


Campers in a Different Town

by StereoChromatic



Series: Peanuts & Camp Camp Saga [1]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series), Peanuts
Genre: Gen, Mild/Infrequent Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-04-23 00:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19139527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StereoChromatic/pseuds/StereoChromatic
Summary: When the campers manage to get separated from David and Gwen, they stumble upon the neighborhood of Charlie Brown and his friends.





	1. Introduction

It was a warm mid-morning in the forests outside Camp Campbell. David and Gwen had taken the campers out here on a hike but, as expected, none of them were particularly enjoying it, except for Nikki. Somehow, David and Gwen had got separated from the rest of the group, and the campers had carried on going forwards regardless. Max, however, was starting to get cranky.

“Jeez, how far does this forest even go?” Max asked in frustration.

“I don’t know, but judging by the sunlight poking out over there, I’d say we’re coming up to a clearing.” Neil answered. 

“Oh, thank God.” Max replied, seeing the light through the trees. The group walked up to the edge of the clearing and saw that the forest stopped there. At the bottom of the hill they stood on, they saw what looked like houses and roads and street lights. 

“Is that, Civilisation?” Neil asked. 

“It’s definitely people.” Nikki answered.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ered asked. “Let’s go down and see what’s up!” everyone around her agreed, and they made their way down to the town in front of them. The streets were lined with houses, but other than that, the streets felt practically empty. Seemingly nobody was outside save for a few parked cars, and only the sound of birds chirping on nearby trees could be heard.

Out of the corner of his eye, Max spotted a young boy wearing a green shirt and black shorts, playing with a yo-yo whilst leaning against one of the houses. The group walked up to him.

“Yo, kid. What’s going on around here?” Max asked. “Seems awfully empty around here.”

“Oh, hello there.” The boy replied back. “I take it you’re a group of campers or scouts or some other thing?”

“Yep.” Max replied. “That’d be us.”

“The rest of the kids in this neighbourhood just got back from their summer camp late yesterday, so most of them are still asleep. You’ll see them all eventually. Name’s Shermy, by the way.”

“They must be exhausted.” Neil commented. 

“You bet.” Shermy replied. “Summer camp this year was up further north, and rather wet, so, not fun.”

“Then why are you up?” Max asked.

“I didn’t go. There weren’t enough spaces on the minibus for me, thankfully.” Shermy replied.

“Is there anything to do out here?” Nikki asked. “I’m getting bored.”

“When the other kids are out, there’s a lot, but other than that, there’s a tavern not too far away with some root beer.” (Assuming Snoopy hasn’t drunk it all, Shermy thought). Nerris’s ears pricked up at this.

Shermy led them to the tavern, and the 11 of them ordered 1 root beer each. When each of their root beers had arrived, the campers got around to introducing themselves.  
“So, I’m Max. she’s Nikki, and he’s Neil.” “I’m Nerris.” “I’m Harrison.” “And I’m Preston.” “I’m Nurf.” “I’m Dolph.” “I’m Ered and next to me is Space Kid.” “That’s all of us.” Max finished as he drank. The rest of them finished their drinks at varying speeds, Nikki chugged hers down in record time, whilst Nerris quietly drank hers as if it was a fine wine. Space Kid didn’t drink any at all. Shermy then asked a question.

“I take it you have camp Counselors, right?”

“Yeah.” Max replied.

“They’re not here though. David and Gwen got lost in the woods, I think.” Nikki replied.

“Oh, man.” Shermy exclaimed. “Those woods aren’t exactly safe.” 

“You’re telling me.” Neil agreed. “The longer I can stay out of there, the better.”

“Not much of an outdoor person, are you?” Shermy asked, getting up out of his chair. 

“No. he’s more of a science nerd.” Nikki pointed out.

“You should speak to Marcie then.” Shermy suggested. “You two have some common ground there.” 

“I’ll look into that.” Neil replied. “Where are you going?” 

“Oh, I’m going to a friend’s house, I promised I’d be there on time.” Shermy replied. 

“Bullshit.” Max muttered under his breath. 

“I heard that.” Shermy retorted, turning to face the campers again. “And by the way, we don’t really use swears here.”

“How so?” Neil asked.

“We kind of have our own separate vocabulary which is just as effective, but not offensive per se, you’ll work it out eventually. Goodbye.”

“Bye, Shermy.” Replied everyone, bar Max and Neil. The lot of them watched as Shermy left. 

“Before we bore ourselves to death sitting around here, we should probably go out and find something to do.” Max suggested.

“Like what?” Harrison asked.

“I dunno. Go out, explore! I’m sure we’ll each find something to do. If David and Gwen haven’t gotten themselves unlost and found us by 6 we’ll rendezvous here and work something out. Until then, we can do whatever the hell we like.”

“Well don’t cause too much chaos.” The bartender told them, cleaning his glass. 

“That is highly dependent on what you call too much.” Neil replied, causing the bartender to sigh.

“Just don’t trash the place.” The bartender stated. At that, the campers began to hand their empty drinks to the bartender, before getting up and leaving the tavern. Outside, the group of campers turned to look at each other, unsure what to do. 

“Let’s split up. I’m sure we’ll find something cool to do if we look in more places.” Ered suggested. “We’ll be back at the tavern by 6, okay?” She continued, checking the time. The campers then dispersed in different directions and walked amongst themselves around the town. 

In the forest David was noting down descriptions of flora and fauna, and had just finished doodling a ladybird, when Gwen approached him. 

“Jesus, there you are, David. I almost thought you were lost.”

“I was just taking a look at all the stuff growing here.” David explained.

“We don’t have time for that, David, the campers are impatient enough as it is without us holding them back.” Gwen told him.

“You left them unsupervised in the middle of the woods?!” David realised.

“I told them to stay still, they should be just over that way…

…Goddamn it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking about doing a fic combining my two favourite series for some time now, and this is the best one i have thought of so far.
> 
> For those wondering, Indiana David isn't on hiatus or anything, I just have new ideas sometimes.


	2. Friends Mean Not Being Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nerris gets herself lost in an unfamiliar town. Fortunately, there is a friendly face to help out.

Nerris had trailed behind Harrison for a few minutes but soon she lost sight of him. Walking alone in the streets of an unfamiliar town was starting to make Nerris uneasy, particularly when it was this quiet. She looked for solace in the landscape around her, but that failed to do much to allay her worries. Before long, she had no idea where she was or how to get back to somewhere she at least recognized, like back at the tavern. Looking around her one more time, she noticed a young boy tending to some plants on the front porch of his house. 

“Oh, hi there. You look like you’re a little lost.” The boy said to her. 

“Yeah, I am.” Nerris admitted. “Do you know where I am?”

“Kind of. There aren’t many landmarks in this town to speak of. The baseball field is a few streets that way, and the tavern is a few streets the other way.”

“I was at the tavern a few minutes ago.” Nerris replied. “This must be your house, right?” she asked.

“Yes, this is my house. I’m Franklin, it’s nice to meet you. I’m guessing you’re new here?” 

“Yeah. Me and my friends are from a summer camp past those woods over there, but we’ve all split up across town. I’m sure we’ll regroup later, it’s just…”

“Not used to being alone, are you?” Franklin said to her. “you can come in, if you want.” Nerris let herself inside Franklin’s front garden.

“No. I try to surround myself with friends wherever I go, be they real or in my imagination.” Nerris explained. 

“Going to camp probably helps you with that, but, like you said, everyone else is all around town. What do you do when you’re with your friends, anyway?” Franklin asked.

“Oh. Normally I play D&D or other table-top RPG’s. I fancy myself as quite the magician, even if I don’t have any magic powers in real life.” 

“That’s rather interesting.” Franklin mused. “I live a rather quiet life.” He said thinking hard. “I don’t really have any specific passion yet, but, much like you, I enjoy being with my friends.” 

“What do you do when you're with your friends?” Nerris asked, intrigued. 

“Oh. Really, I tag along with whatever they’re doing, whether that’s sports, music, board games or sometimes, just chatting and hanging out.” Franklin replied.

“What board games do you play?” Nerris asked.

“Oh, stuff like Monopoly, Clue, Pictionary, and also Chess. You ever played Chess before?”

“Yeah, me and my dad used to play it before he introduced me to D&D. I used to let my imagination take the lead, with all the pieces and stuff.” Nerris explained.

“You want a game?” Franklin asked her.

“Of course I would!” Nerris replied. Franklin headed inside to fetch his chess set, and returned with the board and pieces in his hands. He placed them on the ground and sat down as he set the board up.

“What colour will you play as?” Franklin asked.

“I’ll play as white.” Nerris replied. 

“Okay then, I’ll play as black.” Franklin. “Going second will give me more time to think.” Franklin mused as he continued setting up. Once all the pieces were on the board, they began to play. The game was fast and frenzied, as Nerris opened with an early attacking strategy. 

“Your bishop is no match for my knights in shining armour!” Nerris cheered as she cornered Franklin’s bishop. Franklin moved the bishop so that it put Nerris’ King in check. “The king is in danger!” said Nerris as she thought of her next move, deeply engrossed in the game they were playing. She moved the queen so that it took the bishop. 

“Curses! My bishop could not withstand the combat prowess of your Queen!” Franklin joined in, with forced enthusiasm. Nerris could tell his heart wasn’t quite in it, but she appreciated the gesture. The game continued to become more frayed and hectic, as Franklin and Nerris took piece after piece. Eventually Nerris only had her King and Queen whilst Franklin still had his King, a rook, and two knights. Nerris moved her Queen to threaten both of franklins Knights. Franklin, playing as the ‘commander of the dark forces!’, ordered his forces to stand still as he moved his Rook. Nerris then took one of the Knights, putting him in check, but, alas, she did not see that the Knight she took was protected by his other knight, and Franklin took his Queen. 

“Ha ha! Now that you have nothing but your king, you can no longer win!” Franklin celebrated, in character.

“Does this mean I should give up?!” Nerris asked, worried. 

“No.” Franklin replied, back in his normal tone of voice. “You could still manoeuvre yourself in a way that means we both draw, or you could take my other two pieces, but I won’t let that happen.” Nerris took Franklin’s advice and refused to give in. for several turns Nerris’ king was chased around the board, until she wedge herself into a position that Franklin was unable to capitalise on, and Nerris’ King was safe, but she couldn’t move without putting herself in check, causing the game to end as a draw.

“Hurrah. My King survived!” Nerris cheered, relieved at the result. 

“Good game, Nerris.” Franklin congratulated.

“Thank you, Franklin.” Nerris said. “That was fun. I’d like to ask you something, though.” 

“What’s that?” Franklin asked, as he was putting away the chess set.

“Have you ever played D&D before?”

“No. I haven’t actually.” Franklin replied. “I guess you’ll have to teach me.” 

“That’s fine.” Nerris responded. “I was a beginner once, and it’s always worth having more people to play against.”

“Doesn’t it require four or more people to play?”

“Usually, but when I’m on my own, I can roleplay as multiple characters to keep the game progressing. It gets easier the more you play it.” Nerris answered. 

“I see.” 

“So, you’re up for it?”

“I don’t see why not. But I think we should go inside, for now. I’d much rather play this sitting on a chair.” Franklin suggested.

“Sounds good to me!” Nerris replied, as she followed him inside to play D&D.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to give Feedback and/or Comment!


	3. It's a Kind of Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harrison discovers he is not the only magic person in town.

Harrison walked far along the first street he looked at. He wandered aimlessly, looking for anywhere that looked open enough for him to practice his magic. As he kept walking, he looked up at the sky around him, and to his surprise, there were swirls of dirt and dust dotting the skyline above one particular house. 

Harrison stopped to stare at the rising coils of dust, and he watched as another swirl of dust appeared, expanding in a perfect spiral motion, as if it was appearing deliberately. This was enough to pique Harrison’s curiosity, enough so that he ran across the empty road in order to find out what was causing it. He went up to the house closest to it, and saw that it was emanating from the house’s back garden, cautiously, he walked up to the wooden garden door and knocked. 

To his surprise, the door wasn’t securely shut. The garden door swung open as he knocked on it, revealing a small boy, drawing dirt circles in the air with his hands. The moment he saw Harrison, however, he put his hands behind his back as if he was hiding them. 

“Hi there.” Pig-Pen said with an awkward smile. “Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Harrison. What’s your name?” 

“My name? Everyone here calls me Pig-Pen, even my Mom, even though that’s not my real name. I’ll have to find out one day.”

“What are you doing?” Harrison asked.

“Oh, Nothing really. You didn’t see anything did you?” Pig-Pen dodged the question.

“Were you making swirls of dirt with just your bare hands?” 

“Yeah, you saw it.” Pig-Pen admitted.

“Wow, so you can control dirt. Is that your magic power?” Harrison asked.

“I guess.” Pig-pen replied. “But it’s also a curse. I get laughed at a lot for being dirty. It’s like a magnet, I attract dust and dirt from everywhere.” 

“And then you swirl it in the air?”

“Yeah. Recently I learned I can manipulate it now. You could say it’s magic, if you want.” Pig- pen answered.

“Well, as a matter of fact, I also know a bit of magic.” Harrison said proudly. 

“So, you like what I do? Do you think it’s cool?” Pig-Pen asked tentatively.

“Absolutely. As soon as I saw it was magic I ran right here.” Harrison replied.

“Wow.” Said Pig-Pen. “I’m actually surprised.” Pig-Pen drew another circle of dirt with his finger. “What sort of magic can you do?” Pig-Pen asked, curious.

“Oh, well I can make stuff disappear, and I can also use fire magic.” Harrison answered.

“Can I see it?”

“Do you have Home and contents insurance?” Harrison asked, apprehensive about using his magic in such a small area. 

“What, is your magic dangerous?” Pig-Pen scoffed.

“Well, it’s fire magic.” Harrison replied. 

“Would you be more comfortable practicing it in a more open area?” Pig-Pen asked.

“Yes. That would be great.” Pig-pen nodded, and Harrison followed him out of his back garden, and out onto the sidewalk. 

“Let’s see what you can do.” Pig-Pen dared Harrison.

“Okay. I can do this,” Harrison demonstrated, as he unleashed a burst of fire into the air from his hands. 

“Cool. Can you draw circles in the air with it like I can?” Pig-Pen asked, demonstrating his dirt magic. 

“Yeah, I can do that.” Harrison replied, as he drew a figure 8 of fire. 

“Nice work.” Pig-pen congratulated. 

“Your magic is pretty cool too.” Harrison complimented. “You said you could also make stuff disappear.”

“Yeah, I do that too, but sometimes it doesn’t work properly. I can make things disappear, but I don’t know how to get them back, so sometimes they get lost forever.” 

“What sort of things?” Pig-Pen asked.

“Oh, dice, cards, rabbits…” Harrison replied. 

“You mean living things?” Pig-Pen continued to ask.

“Yeah. I’d rather not talk about it. I wouldn’t want you to accidentally disappear, for instance.” 

“Is that even possible?” Pig-Pen asked.

“Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it.” Harrison reiterated as fires started to light on his body.

“Harrison, you’re burning up!” Pig-Pen alerted him.

“I am?” Harrison asked, perplexed until he looked at his arms.

“I am on fire. Can you put me out?” Harrison asked. 

“Have you tried rolling?” Pig-pen asked. Harrison did so, but it did very little.

“It’s not working!” Harrison complained. “And it’s starting to hurt. Do you have anything like water, or maybe sand?”

“I have my dirt magic, will that work?” 

“Yes. Just do it!” Harrison cried out, small burns starting to appear.

“Okay.” Pig-Pen readied his magic, as he gathered the mass of dirt and dust around him into a ball, before unleashing it in a beam. It acted much like a fire extinguisher, and it put out the fires that were burning on Harrison.

Harrison coughed as he sat up.

“You okay?” Pig-Pen asked.

“Yeah. I think I’ll be fine.” Harrison replied. “Thanks for that.”

“No problem.” Pig-Pen said. “I shouldn’t have pushed you so far.”

“It doesn’t happen very often. The last time it happened… no… I won’t say it.”

“It’s alright. I don’t have to know.” Pig-Pen told him. “I went too far. I'm sorry.”

“It’s alright. Everyone has flaws in them somewhere.” Harrison consoled him. “Most people try to hide it but they still have. Everyone else at camp, they all have something to hide behind.”

“Yeah, you mean, like an emotional crutch.”

“Exactly. Nurf’s crutch is bullying, Ered depends on her coolness, Nerris depends on her friends… without that, their self-esteem is gone.”

“Our town’s a bit like that too, Linus has his blanket, Lucy depends on Schroeder, Schroeder has his piano, but Charlie Brown’s really the only person who’s honest about his insecurities. I take it you have friends at camp?”

“I’m not sure about that, but if the time comes when I discover that I do have friends, I’ll make sure to be more open about myself to them.” Harrison said.

“Promise?” Pig-Pen asked.

“Promise.” Harrison replied. “Now, would you like to see a card trick?”

“You bet I would.”

“Pick a card, any card…”


	4. The Cheapest Psychiatrist in America

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nurf stumbles upon Lucy's psychiatry stand and has an enlightening conversation.

Nurf trudged down the streets, winding his way around every street corner he came across. He was thinking about himself, about how his reputation as the camp bully wasn’t doing him any favours. He wanted to change for better, but his attempts at self-help had yielded nothing so far. He rounded the corner and thought aloud.

“Man, I could really use a psychiatrist right now. It’s a shame that the system is designed to make everything so expensive these days.” He said as he continued walking. In the distance, he saw what he thought to be a lemonade stand. As he got closer though, he noticed a young girl with black hair sitting behind it, the text above her reading ‘Psychiatric Help, 5c’.

“5 cents?” Nurf asked in wonder.

“Worth a shot, if you ask me!” Said the girl at the stand. Nurf walked over to the stand and sat down on the stool placed in front of it.

“So, what’s your name?” She asked.

“I’m Nurf. And you are?”

“My name’s Lucy. Now, what seems to be the trouble?”

“Well, I feel like I’m not reaching my full potential.”

“Why is that?” Lucy asked.

“Where I’m from, I have a reputation as being a bully, when really I use violence because it’s a learned behaviour from my early childhood.” Nurf explained.

“Hmm, interesting. I for one find violence very cathartic.” Lucy said. 

“How so?” Nurf asked.

“Usually, when my brother is annoying me, or if I’m angry for whatever reason, I punch him or hit something else, and then I feel better after that.” She explained.

“Does that bother him?” Nurf asked.

“Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure it does, but enough of that.” Lucy answered. “The question is, what do you want to do about this?”

“I want to learn how to become a better friend to people, and how to properly interact with them without resorting to violence.” Nurf explained.

“Okay.” Lucy replied. “Have you taken any specific steps to find out what kinds of interactions cause you to be angry?”

“Well, sometimes I get angry when someone insults me, though I’m getting better at shrugging those off…”

“Good.” Lucy nodded.

“…I do get angry when somebody asks me questions that I’m not happy to answer."

“Are these…?”

“No they’re not inappropriate, most of the time they’re not even personal, they’re just questions I don’t like.”

“I see.” Lucy acknowledged. Lucy paused for a moment a she thought of an answer.

“Well, my advice would be that when you’re asked a question like that, particularly if it’s from a friend, you can politely answer that you don’t want to answer it. If they’re a good friend, they’ll know better than to pressure you into answering. With strangers, I find it’s best to ignore them. Look at the way politicians act when they’re asked incessantly.” Lucy explained.

“They tend to squirm uncomfortably, or try to change the question.” Nurf said.

“That’s true for interviews, but I’m talking about when they’re moving about, surrounded by news cameras and journalists. They don’t say much, if anything, and they just keep on walking. I hope this helps.” Lucy continued.

“It does actually.” Nurf replied. “I’ll try to keep it in mind.”

“Was there any other issues you wanted to talk about?”

“Oh I have plenty of problems, though I don’t really want to talk about some of them, and I’d never be able to list all of them in a single session.” Nurf replied.

“Well that’s ok. It looks like you’re learning already.” Lucy said.

“I guess I owe you 5 cents.” Nurf said.

“Yep. You sure do.” Lucy confirmed, before Nurf fished 5 cents out of his pocket and handed them to Lucy.

“Didn’t have a nickel?” Lucy asked.

“No. When you start bullying people for lunch money, they soon learn not to carry it.” Nurf explained. “Not that there’s many ways to spend money at camp.”

“Oh, you went to summer camp this year. How was that?” Lucy asked.

“Ours is still going.” Nurf told her.

“It is? Huh, ours ended 3 days early. Tent leader said something about inclement weather.” Lucy replied.

“Inclement weather?” Nurf asked.

“You know, rain and storms and stuff.”

“Oh, right.” Nurf understood.

“So how is camp going, then?” Lucy asked.

“Oh, it’s okay.” Nurf replied. “Me and the rest of the campers, we all understand each other, to some extent.”

“Like the community we have here, we have that sort of thing too.” Lucy added.

“I mean, I’m not necessarily friends with any of them, but in a life or death situation, we can band together.” Nurf explained.

“I’m sure we’d be the same, not that it’ll ever come to that.” Lucy agreed. “What sort of camp is it?”

“Oh, it’s uh… I dunno, it’s like… it’s like a camp for all camps, you can technically do anything, sort of.

“So, like a camp camp?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah. Like that!” Nurf agreed. “My turn. What kind of camp was yours?”

“Oh, ours was just like a regular camp, with tents and walks and campfires, nothing special. It’s funny actually, because I usually sign everyone on to some extremely specialised and wacky camp that probably isn’t good, but anyway.” Lucy answered.

“Do you like doing that?” Nurf asked.

“It’s a power move.” Lucy admitted. “Let’s everyone knows who’s boss.”

“I guess bullying is a thing we have in common.” Nurf noticed.

“Yeah, though I’ve never thought it was bad, it’s just a part of me.” Lucy reasoned. “Like me being crabby. A lot of people complain about that, but it’s just me.”

“Have you ever considered getting a psychiatrist?” Nurf asked.

“Are you serious?” Lucy joked. Nurf got up from his seat.

“Well, it’s been nice talking to you, you’ve been a big help.”

“You’re welcome.” Lucy replied. “See you around.” 

“Bye.” Nurf walked away from the psychiatrist stand and continued down the street before finding a nearby bench, where he sat down and continued to contemplate life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As good a psychiatrist as she is, Lucy's life advice for herself should probably be taken with a pinch of salt.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the Chapter. Feel free to comment and give feedback!


	5. Picture a Perfect View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dolph offers some wise words to a new friend.

Rerun sat on a park bench outside, sketchbook in hand. The trees in the distance behind the tall grasses and wild flowers provided a stunning vista for him to practice his painting. Rerun still wasn’t good at painting; his kindergarten drawings are a testament to that, but to him, the calmness of being able to draw, away from the chaos, away from the sibling rivalry, away from Mom’s rules, and her bike, was something he felt he really needed. The park was a fair distance away from home, not that Rerun cared, he knew his way back. He was just about to start drawing, when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small child, one he didn’t recognise, walking by. 

“Hello?” Rerun called out. 

“Hello. The child replied. “Who might you be?” 

“My name’s Rerun. I’ve never seen you here before. What’s your name?”

“I’m Dolph. I come from a camp a bit far from here. We’re here on a day out.” 

“That’s quite interesting.” Rerun commented. “What sort of camp is it?”

“Oh, uh, it’s different for every camper. My chosen activity is art camp.”

“So you like to draw, too?” Rerun asked.

“Ja, I like to draw. Painting is what I do most though.

“What kind of paintings do you like to do?” Rerun asked.

“I like all kinds of painting, but I feel like I’m much better at landscapes and still images rather than people and animals.” Dolph explained. 

“Why don’t you sit here with me?” Rerun offered. “I have a great view of the park from here.” 

“Danke, uh, Thank you.” Dolph said, walking over and sitting next to Rerun. He looked ahead of him and took a pencil out of his pocket. He considered drawing on his hand, until Rerun noticed what he was doing.

“Would you like some paper? I have some spare.”

“Yes, Please.” Dolph replied, as Rerun neatly tore a few pages from the back of his notebook and geve them to Dolph. The two of them made drawings of the view in front of them, Dolph beginning with the trees in the background, before moving on to the wild grasses and flowers in the forefront, soft pencil strokes allowing for a more detailed piece of art. It was by no means a masterpiece, but then again, Dolph was only a child, and a small one at that. 

Rerun’s drawing, however was a lot sketchier, with rough lines and almost no sense of perspective. Additionally, Rerun took a peek at Dolph’s drawing, and he became frustrated at how little his drawing looked like what he thought it would. His drawing started to look messier and more hectic as he tried to correct his imperfections, which only made him even more frustrated. Before long Dolph turned to look at him and he was able to tell just by reading his face.

“Is something the matter?” Dolph asked.

“I’m ok, it’s just, I see yours and I look at mine and it’s not even comparable, you’re so much better at it than me in every way.” Rerun complained.

“That’s okay.” Dolph said. “The only difference between you and me is that I’ve had more practice.” 

“What does that mean, exactly?” Rerun asked, not quite understanding. “Isn’t there some form of natural talent involved?"

“No.” Dolph said. “Once, mein Oma once taught me a very important lesson. When you are born, you have nothing. You can’t walk, you can’t talk, you can’t read or write or draw. But then you learn from the others around you, and by the time you’re in kindergarten, you can walk and talk, and some can even read and write already. It takes lots of practice to be good at anything, and that includes art.”

“I’m only at kindergarten now.” Rerun added.

“Well then, you have lots of time to improve.” Dolph encouraged him. “I only got better at my art by practising every day.” 

“Every day? I know Schroeder practices piano every day.” Rerun told him. 

“And how good is he?” Dolph asked.

“He can play Beethoven at a professional level.” Rerun answered, drawing a smile as he got it.

“And now you understand.” Dolph replied, smiling back. The two of them got back to drawing. Rerun had abandoned the possibility of using the page as a painting and instead looked at a specific tree, which he drew repeatedly until he ran out of space on the page.” Dolph took a peek at Rerun’s work. 

“See, you’re making good progress.” Dolph complimented.

“Thank you.” Rerun replied. At that moment, a Red Admiral butterfly came into view, and flew down onto a flower, right in front of Dolph. Putting his own words to good use, Dolph began to draw the butterfly, putting in some practice at drawing moving animals. The butterfly stayed on the flower for quite some time, which allowed Dolph to get some of the butterfly’s finer details onto the page, before it flew off. Dolph tried to fill in the rest from memory, and, unfortunately, that part of the drawing wasn’t as good as the rest of it. Dolph was still happy with the drawing, as a whole, however, so he went back to drawing the plants and the landscape. 

Eventually, Dolph and Rerun had drawn everything in front of them, and the rough planks of the wooden bench they sat on was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Rerun moved from the chair and sat on the grass in front of it, resting his head against the bench. Dolph stayed seated.

“You tired?” he asked.

“Yeah. I think I’ll have a quick nap, listen to all the birds.” Rerun replied. “You can see them better from down here.”

“I know. David shows us a lot of birds at camp.” Dolph said.

“Wake me up if you need anything.” Rerun responded, closing his eyes. Before long, he was sound asleep. Dolph got up from the park bench and looked at the path he had walked down. The park split off into three directions at the point where he stood, and he looked around at each of them, before turning to check on Rerun, occasionally. The views from each of the paths were still and unmoving, and Dolph was happy for it to stay that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to say, If you enjoy a series or show and you have ideas for a story, Write them down! it's never too early to start writing. Even if you're not very good at it, with practice, You'll get better!
> 
> Feel Free to Comment and Give Feedback!


	6. Motorcyclists and their Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ered winds her way to the tennis court, where she meets a fellow sports enthusiast.

Ered walked hastily along the streets, seemingly without purpose. She’d seen Neil turn off down a side street, and Harrison and Nerris both behind her, but they were both long gone. Continuing on, she noticed what appeared to be a tennis court, as well as a skate park. She sat on a bench near the court and looked around. All was quiet, until the peace was interrupted by the sound of a tiny motor revving its way up the street. Ered noticed as it came into view that is was a small child riding a motocross bike, whether they were a boy or a girl, Ered wasn’t able to tell. They parked their bike at a patch of dirt near the bench as Ered looked on. 

“Hey there.” The kid called out as she got off her bike and took off her helmet. “You new here?”

“I guess you could say that.” Ered replied. 

“What’s your name, kid?” The girl asked.

“I’m Ered, short for Meredith, but don’t tell anyone that.” Ered answered. “What’s yours?”

“Oh, my name’s Patricia, but everybody here calls me Peppermint Patty.”

“Cool. Why Peppermint?” Ered asked.

“I dunno. I think there’s another Patty somewhere in town.” Peppermint Patty replied. Ered nodded, pausing. There was an awkward silence which Ered eventually broke.

“So, what kind of motorbike do you have there? Is it a Kawasaki, or…”

“Well, it’s a motocross bike. I wouldn’t know what make it is. It’s not a road vehicle.” Peppermint Patty replied.

“What do you mean, it’s not a road vehicle?” Ered asked.

“I’d say it’s a bit like a go kart, but for motorbikes. You ever driven a go kart before?” Peppermint Patty asked, sitting down on the bench with her.

“Yeah, I’ve driven a kart before. I’ve ridden a motorcycle, I skateboard regularly, I’m a bit of an extreme sports fan myself.” Ered replied, counting her fingers.

“Is that so? It seems like you and I will get along, I’m quite sporty myself.” Peppermint Patty said. 

“What sports do you do?” Ered asked.

“Oh, I play Baseball, Football, Soccer, Hockey, Figure Skating, Basketball, and also Motocross Racing. I do go skateboarding on occasion, but it’s not my biggest sport.” Peppermint Patty answered.

“That’s quite a list.” Ered replied.

“Yeah, there’s a lot you can do around here. It’s a nice place. Is there a lot to do where you’re from?” Peppermint Patty replied.

“In my hometown, yeah there is, but right now I’m supposed to be at camp.” Ered answered. 

“Supposed to be? Did you run off or something?” 

“Well, we went into the woods on a hike, the counsellors got lost and we kept walking until we all got here. There’s 10 of us walking around.” Ered explained.

“Okay. I’m sure they’ll run into a few of my friends, we spend a lot of time outside.” 

“I guess.” Ered replied, before she turned to look at the motocross bike. “Can I ride it?” she asked.

“Sure, so long as I can watch.” Peppermint Patty replied, handing Ered her helmet. Ered put the helmet on and sat herself on the bike, bending her knees so she could put her feet on the footrests.

“Not really designed for your size, is it?” Peppermint Patty stood up. 

“It’s cool. I can handle it.” Ered assured. Peppermint Patty watched as Ered rode up and down the street, slowly getting used to it, and getting a feel for how it gripped the road.   
After a few runs, Ered parked the bike again and returned the helmet to Peppermint Patty.

“You ever do tricks on this thing?” she asked.

“I can pop a wheelie on it. I don’t try much else, though. It doesn’t really have the power to do any mad air tricks or jumps.” Peppermint Patty answered.

“That’s a shame.” Ered said. “Would have been nice to see. You ever entered this bike into a race?” 

“Yeah. Plenty.” Peppermint Patty replied. “I’ve even won a couple of them. Not many people have a bike in this area you know. They’re expensive. Charlie Brown has one, but it’s rickety and old and broken.”

“I could probably fix it.” Ered offered. “I know how to repair one.” 

“Heck, he’d probably sell it to you. He really has no interest in it.” Peppermint Patty responded. “Besides, he lives clear out on the opposite side of town, it’d take forever to get there.” 

“And I don’t have any tools.” Ered added.

“That too.” Peppermint Patty mused. “Who taught you to fix a motorcycle, out of interest?”

“Oh, my dads teach me a lot of things, when they’re not busy with work, at least.” 

“You don’t have a mom either, huh.” Peppermint Patty moped.

“Hey, don’t let that get you down. I’m sure your Dad loves you very much.” Ered sympathised.

“He does. He calls me a ‘rare gem’.” 

“See, what did I tell you?” Ered replied. 

“It’s not the same, though. Most people here have two parents who love them, and it’s very difficult for dad to play the role of both parents and hold a job down at the same time. I’ve tried to play matchmaker for him, but he hasn’t moved on.” 

“What happened with your mother?”

“I don’t know, Dad never told me.” Peppermint Patty answered.

“It’s okay, I was never told what happened to my birth parents either. I had to dig it up myself.” 

“What happened?”

“I can’t tell you. My dads work for the government, and they handle some sensitive stuff. Me telling you might get them in a lot of trouble.”

“Okay, alright, I won’t push for more info, but if you ever hear about anyone named Gloria Reichardt when you get home, keep me in mind.” Peppermint Patty said.

“I will. But us campers won’t be returning to camp for a few hours. Do you wanna watch me pop some wheelies on that bike of yours?” Ered suggested.

“Sure, we’ll take turns doing it. I need something to clear my head.” Peppermint Patty agreed.

“Cool.” Ered replied, taking Peppermint Patty’s helmet and getting on the bike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know already, I have a Tumblr now. https://stereochromatic404.tumblr.com/
> 
> Feel free to Comment and Give Feedback!


	7. Walking on the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linus and Space Kid talk about Space while watching a documentary on TV

Linus was sitting at home on a bean bag, flicking through the channels on the TV. It was a rare day when Linus had enough time alone to watch what he wanted, given that neither Lucy nor Rerun were home with him. He kept flicking past a sea of mundane news channels and reality TV shows until he found a PBS Documentary about the Space Race. Linus had just finished watching the exploits of Yuri Gagarin when he heard a knock on the door.

“Strange, that can’t be them, they’ve only been gone an hour.” Linus thought aloud, getting up from his beanbag and heading for the door. Upon opening the door, he noticed a small boy wearing what appeared to be a homemade space suit. 

“Hello?” Linus asked.

“Hi. Um, are you friendly?” The space boy asked.

“Yeah.” Linus replied with a puzzled expression. “I’m Linus, What’s your name?”

“Uh, my name’s Neil, but the other campers call me Space Kid. There’s two Neil’s in our camp.”

“I see. Do you know where your counsellors are?” 

“They’re somewhere in the woods, I think. The campers are all hanging around town until they pick us up.”

“There are worse places to be lost, I guess.” Linus said. “Would you like to come in? I’m watching a documentary on the space race.” 

“Really. Woah!” Space Kid spoke in amazement as Linus showed him in. Space Kid sat next to Linus and watched the TV screen as it played Kennedy’s moon speech.

“I’ve seen this one before.” Space Kid said.

“I’m sure you have.” Linus agreed. “You look like you’ve seen it many times.”

“It never gets old.” Space Kid replied.

“That’s nice to hear.” Linus told him. They watched the TV as the events of history progressed from the speech to the tragic failure of Apollo 1 to the first manned mission, Apollo 7. As Space Kid stayed glued to the screen, he asked Linus a question. 

“Do you like space?”

“Yeah I do. I have a model space station I made for a science project if you want to see it.” 

“I’d love to.” Space kid replied.

“I’ll go get it.” Linus said, heading out of the room. Space Kid watched as the programme moved on to talking about Apollo 8, before Linus returned with the model space station and a glass of milk.

“I brought you a drink. Thought you might be thirsty.” 

“Thanks.” Space Kid looked up, smiling. He took a long look at the space station. There were several things on it that weren’t accurate about it, Space Kid noted, but he appreciated the effort.

“It’s good.” Space Kid replied, handing it back to Linus, before taking off his helmet and drinking the milk. Linus went out to get a glass of water for himself, before returning to gaze at the TV.

“Is that Earthrise?” Linus asked.

“You know it?” Space Kid said. “The best photograph mankind has ever made.”

“I’d argue the New Horizons image of Pluto are better, but Earthrise isn’t far off.” Linus replied.

“Uh huh.” Space Kid said in understanding. The two of them watched as the programme moved on from Apollo 8 to Apollo 9 and Apollo 10, going into detail about the Lunar and Command modules.

“You wanna hear something strange about Apollo 10?” Linus asked.

“Sure.” Space Kid nodded, curious.

“My best friend’s name is Charlie Brown, and he has a dog named Snoopy. And the Command and Lunar modules of Apollo 10 have the same name!”

“Are they named after the modules?” Space Kid asked.

“No. I asked his mom about it and apparently, it’s just a really weird coincidence.” Linus answered.

“That is strange.” Space Kid replied, finishing his milk and putting his helmet back on. The programme detailed how Apollo 10 acted as a dress rehearsal for the moon landing, and how they got very close to the moon before leaving back to earth. As the programme finally got to Apollo 11, Space Kid told Linus a little about his family history.

“You see that guy there?” Space Kid pointed at the screen.

“Yes. That’s Neil Armstrong, what about him?” Linus responded.

“I’m his great grandson.”

“So your full name is Neil Armstrong Jr?” Linus pieced the puzzle together. The realisation of what Space Kid had said dawned on him.

“Does that mean you’ve seen him?” Linus asked.

“I think I did, but I was too young to remember it. We have pictures at home of me as a baby on his knee. When I get sad that he’s no longer with us, I take a look at it.” Space Kid answered.

“Oh, okay.” Linus replied, taking a more sombre tone. “I shouldn’t have got too excited, sorry.” 

“Oh don’t be. It’s natural to be excited about space!” Space Kid laughed it off.

“What about Buzz, did you ever meet him?” Linus asked.

“Oh, Yeah. He visits us often. He even went to camp to see me on Parent’s Day!” Space Kid beamed.

“That’s amazing!” Linus said wondrously, a hint of envy bubbling through his words. “What do your parents do for a living, by the way? I assume it’s something space related."

“Yeah, they both work for NASA.” Space Kid replied. “They’re very busy at the moment, which is why I went to camp, and why they couldn’t come to Parent’s Day.”

“I see. My parents are quite busy too, but they don’t have jobs as interesting as your Parents’.” Linus added. 

“Uh huh. As strange as it sounds, I didn’t see any adults anywhere as I was walking down. Do they just let you play outside?” Space Kid asked.

“Absolutely. Both my siblings are outside, doing whatever they usually do.” Linus replied.

“Is there any sort of parental or adults watching over them?” Space Kid asked.

“No. not at all. Our town is a very safe place.” Linus told him. “We all look out for each other, anyway. Are you asking because you’re scared or…”

“No. just wondering. Mom never lets me play without adult supervision. I’m quite clumsy and accident prone.” Space Kid replied.

“I see.” Linus replied, glancing at the TV screen as the Eagle landed on the moon’s surface.

“This is everyone’s favorite bit.” Linus said.

“Have you seen it before?” Space Kid asked.

“I wish. Every time I try there’s always an interruption that ruins it.” Linus complained. At that moment, a knock on the door was heard. It was impatient and light, like it was someone who badly wanted to see him.

“I’ll go get it. You watch the landing.” Space Kid got up and headed for the door.

“Thanks, Neil.” Linus said, as for the first time he watched man’s first steps on the moon uninterrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued... 
> 
> Feel Free to comment and give feedback!


	8. Music and Theater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two patrons of the arts drink tea and play the piano, among other things.

Preston walked a fair distance behind Max as they made their way down James Street. Preston could see Max get further away every second, but something else occupied his mind. As he passed, he heard the faint sound of piano keys from inside. He stopped, and listened closer. 

“That piano playing sounds like, BEETHOVEN!” Preston shouted, revelling in his knowledge of classical music. Inside, Schroeder’s ears pricked up as he spoke and the music stopped. He got up and headed for the door, opening it. In front of him was Preston, with a wide grin on his face.

“Hello?” Schroeder asked, peering out of the door.

“Are you the piano player?” Preston asked.

“That’s me. I heard you like Beethoven.”

“Yeah, sorry. I tend to shout sometimes, Preston said, putting his hands behind him in embarrassment. “My name’s Preston.” 

“Oh, no need to apologise.” Schroeder replied. “My name’s Schroeder by the way. It’s rare I find someone as interested in Beethoven, well, the arts, as I am.” He said, taking note of Preston’s rather, theatrical fashion sense. “Would you like to come in?” 

“Absolutely!” Preston replied loudly. Schroeder led Preston into his living room, where his small piano took center stage. 

“The piano is really that small?” Preston asked. “It sounded like a full size Grand Piano from outside.”

“I’m talented,” Schroeder replied. “watch.” And Schroeder began to play. After a few seconds, Preston recognised the sound as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, a tune that, as he looked harder at the piano, should have been impossible, given that the black keys were literally painted on.

“I… Uh…” Preston mumbled. 

“Do you like it?” Schroeder replied, looking up at Preston while continuing to play.

“Uh, Yeah. It’s really good.” Preston replied. “Even Harrison would be impressed.”

“Who’s Harrison? Is he one of your friends?” Schroeder asked, interested. 

“He‘s one of my friends at camp.” Preston explained, sitting down in front of the piano. “He likes to do magic tricks.”

“I see. Camp isn’t really my thing, but its fine if you do. What do you like to do, Preston?” Schroeder asked.

“Well, I like the theatre, stuff like Shakespeare, Hamilton and all that jazz.” Preston answered. 

“Les Miserables is the only one I’ve seen in person.” Schroeder replied. “My parents do indulge my love of classical music, but I wouldn’t dream of asking them any more favours.”

“Do you like other forms of music?” Preston asked.

“Not really. I don’t actually mind other music, but Lucy likes to tease me with it, and if I do anything other than hate it outright, she’ll take it as a sign that I like her.” 

“Do you like her?” Preston asked with a puzzled frown.

“Not in the way she likes me.” Schroeder replied. 

“What about musicals, and movie soundtracks?” Preston asked.

“Depends on the musical, or the film.” Schroeder said. “Some of the more orchestral stuff is good.” Schroeder finished up playing Moonlight Sonata in order to give his hands a rest. 

“You stopping?”

“For now. I’ve been practicing all morning.” Schroeder told him, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

“Tea?” Schroeder asked.

“Yes please.” Preston replied, in a quieter tone of voice. 

Schroeder made tea while Preston sat at the dining table. “Is this your first time in town?” he asked, as he put water in the kettle to boil. 

“Correct.” Preston replied. “We went far out into the woods on a hike and lost the counsellors, so we’re here until they get out.” He said.

“Interesting.” Schroeder said, as he waited for the water to boil. 

“I heard from Shermy that you and some others went to camp too.” Preston said.

“Yeah, that was something. We were supposed to go hiking each day, but then it rained, and we all got wet, and the roof leaked; it was terrible. I take it he was at the tavern when he told you that.”

“He was. Ordered us all root beer too.” Preston replied.

“Good for him.” Schroeder responded. Steam rose out of the kettle as the water began to boil. Schroeder took out two mugs and made tea. Taking them to the table, he sat down, handing a mug to Preston. 

“It’s hot.” Schroeder warned him.

“Yup.” Preston replied, having taken a sip and burnt his tongue. He stirred his tea in order to cool it down. There was an uncomfortable silence, only broken by the clinking of spoons as the steam rose from their teacups.

“What do you do at camp?” Schroeder asked.

“Theatre camp.” Preston replied. “It’s effectively a wooden stage with some props, but I make the best of it.”

“This one time, I signed up for a summer music camp, but half the neighbourhood conspired to keep me here, and Lucy pretended to be the travel agent.” Schroeder told him, taking a sip.

“They must like you a lot in order to do that.” Preston replied, remembering the events of Camp Corp. 

“I guess so, but even then, it’s only a summer camp. I wouldn’t have been gone long.” Schroeder replied. “It’s not like anything bad could have happened.” Preston almost spat out his tea.

“What?” Schroeder asked. “Is something wrong?” 

“No.” Preston gulped, calming himself. “Just surprised. I guess music camp wouldn’t quite be the same as camping out in the woods, among the bears, and other things.”

“I see.” Schroeder replied, drinking another mouthful. “To be fair, I had no idea whether it would be indoors or not. I still don’t know where it is.” 

Preston drank some of his tea, before continuing. “I guess.” The two of them drank until their mugs were empty.

“More tea?” Schroeder asked.

“No thanks. Preston declined, turning to look at the piano. “Have you ever let anyone else play the piano?”

“Nobody’s ever asked.” Schroeder responded. “They’ve leaned on it, they’ve danced on it, they’ve thrown it down the sewer but no one’s wanted to play it except me. You’d be the first, if you’re happy to.”

“I guess it’s worth a try.” Preston replied, sitting at the piano. He began to press the keys and within a few minutes, he was playing Jingle Bells. 

“It’s nowhere near Christmas yet.” Schroeder said.

“Sorry, it’s the only one I know how to play. I can sing a wide variety of stuff, but the piano is a different beast.” Preston apologised.

“With practice, you’ll get there.” Schroeder replied. “No shame in trying new things.”

“Yeah.” Preston got up. “I’ll stick to what I’m good at, for now.” He said, handing the space to Schroeder, who gladly began playing another Beethoven piece, while Preston continued to listen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment and give feedback!  
> I'm very grateful for all of the nice comments that people have already left me. :)


	9. Easily Distracted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikki finds a new friend, and tags along with her on a bunch of small adventures

Sally stood outside her house, watching as the tree across the other side of the street chewed the last remnants of the kite that flew into it earlier that morning. Charlie Brown had long given up trying to retrieve it, he’d gone somewhere else. 

“How on earth?” Sally muttered to herself, as the tree spat out the string. In the distance she noticed a young girl with green hair happily skipping along the sidewalk, smelling the flowers and running through every grass verge she could. She stopped, eyeing the tree in front of her, and grinned, as if she had set herself a challenge. 

“Please don’t climb that tree!” Sally warned as the girl grabbed onto the trunk. She sniffed the bark, and duly hopped off the tree. She turned and noticed the string on the ground.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“It’s kite string.” Sally replied.

“Where’s the kite?”

“In that tree.” Sally answered, pointing at where it once was. 

“Is it yours?” 

“No. It’s my brother’s. The tree ‘ate’ it. He calls it a Kite-Eating Tree, not that you’d know about it, you look like you’re new here.”

“Hey, I’ve heard of such things before.” Nikki protested. “Name’s Nikki by the way. What’s yours?”

“Sally, Sally Brown. I live here. You say you’ve heard of kite eating trees?”

“Yeah. I always thought it was just a legend, like Jackalopes, or Sasquatch, but apparently it’s true.” Nikki explained. “So, uh, what are you doing?”

“I’m not really doing much of anything at the moment. I was watching TV this morning, but the cartoons already finished.” Sally grumbled. “Normally I’d have a friend to hang out with, but everyone seems to be doing their own thing. What about you. Where are your friends?”

“Oh, my friends are all scattered around town. We’re all part of a camp.” Nikki replied.

“A camp you say? We just got back from ours.” Sally said.

“I heard you got rained out.” Nikki added.

“Yeah.” Sally sighed. “More fun for us out here, though.” Nikki just nodded, looking around her for something interesting to happen. In that instance, she spotted a certain beagle, walking up back to his doghouse.

“Who’s that?” Nikki asked.

“Oh, that’s Snoopy. He’s our dog. Which reminds me, I should get him some lunch.” Sally answered. “Wanna come with me?”

“Sure.” Nikki replied. She followed Sally to her house and into her kitchen, where she pulled out a small can of dog food. 

“Could you help me open this can?” Sally asked, trying hard to pull on the tab. 

“Okay.” Nikki replied, taking hold of the food can and pulling it open without too much effort.

“You made that look easy.” Sally complimented.

“I climb a lot.” Nikki smiled proudly, handing the can back to Sally. The two of them made their way back out of the house. Snoopy watched as Sally brought out the food and laid it in his supper dish. Snoopy smiled happily as he ate it. Sally put the can in the recycling bin, and made her way back to where Nikki was.

“So, where were we?” Nikki asked.

“We were talking about our friends.” Sally reminded her.

“Oh yeah.” Nikki remembered. “What about your friends?”

“My friends?” Sally responded. “Well, I have my brother Charlie Brown, Linus, who I really like, and Eudora. The others I get on with, but those 3 are the ones I consider my friends, although I might regard Linus as more than a friend, sometimes.” 

“Do you mean, you like like him?” Nikki asked. Sally just smiled.

“Come on. I’ll show you what I mean.” And they went over a short distance to Linus’ house. Sally knocked on the door, waiting impatiently for it to open. The door opened to somebody she did not recognise.

“Who?” Sally crumpled her face in confusion.

“Oh, hey Nikki!” Space Kid greeted happily.

“Space Kid?” Nikki exclaimed.

“Is Linus around?” Sally asked.

“He is.” Space Kid replied. “He’s watching the moon documentary with me!” 

“That’s nice of him.” Nikki commented. “Can we come in?”

“Sure. I’m sure Linus won’t mind.” Space Kid replied. Sally and Nikki headed inside, sitting behind Linus as he watched Man’s first steps on the moon. The four of them kept quiet, so as not to ruin the moment for anyone else. Once the program stopped focusing on the landing, Space Kid turned to Sally and Nikki.

“Would you like a glass of milk?” Space Kid offered.

“Please don’t offer other people drinks on my behalf.” Linus rebutted. “Besides, we’ll need that milk for when Mom and Dad, or even Lucy, comes back. She’ll be very crabby if we ran out of milk.”

“Sorry, Linus.” Space Kid replied. “I just wanted to be nice.” 

“As do I. I just have a balancing act to hold at the same time.” Linus explained.

“It’s alright, Space Kid. We can all just go back to the tavern if we get thirsty anyway.” Nikki commiserated. 

“Yeah.” Space Kid agreed. “By the way, who’s your new friend, Nikki?” 

“Oh, this is Sally.” Nikki introduced. “She’s one of Linus’ friends.” 

“Yeah, we’re friends.” Linus replied.

“That’s more than what you said last time.” Sally perked up.

“It’s platonic, and it will continue to stay that way.” Linus replied. 

“For a long time.” Sally finished the sentence, having heard it all before.

“You bicker like my parents.” Space Kid smiled. 

“Good Grief.” Linus exclaimed in embarrassment, pulling out his blanket from under the beanbag. Sally turned pink in embarrassment and looked away when she saw him with it.

“Not again.” Sally groaned.

“Is that a security blanket?” Nikki asked.

“I have one of those. Usually I use it as this cape, but when I need to, I use it like Linus does.” Space Kid added. Linus put the blanket back under the beanbag, in an attempt to prevent further embarrassment.

“Too late, Linus. They’ve already seen it.” Sally teased.

“Not that we care about it.” Nikki smiled, giving Space Kid a high five.

“Your camp sounds great.” Linus told them.

“Oh, Please. The camp itself is really not great, but the adventures we’ve had and the friends we’ve made are the best things I’ve ever known.” Nikki told him. Space Kid nodded approvingly, whilst Sally and Linus smiled at each other.

“Anyone want cookies?” Linus asked.

“Yes please!” the three of them replied in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Linus really wanted to change the subject there...
> 
> Feel free to Comment and give Feedback!


	10. Open Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcie and Neil solve brain teasers for fun and talk openly about their friendships.

Neil looked around as he continued to walk along the sidewalk. He noticed that Ered, Nerris, and Harrison were following behind him. Not wanting to socialize with any of them for the day, he turned off onto a side street at the nearest opportunity. As he walked, he noticed a young girl, wearing glasses and sitting on a folding chair in the garden, reading. The girl looked up from the book she was reading and noticed Neil walking by. 

“Hello. Who might you be?” she asked.

“Oh, my name is Neil. And you are?”

“Marcie.”

“Oh yeah. Shermy mentioned you. Said you were very knowledgeable about a lot of things.” Neil said.

“He calls me a nerd. But anyway, where are you from?”

“Oh, I’m from a camp an hour or two away.” Neil replied.

“An hour away? That seems pretty far away for going out on a regular camp activity.” Marcie commented.

“Yeah. David, our camp counsellor, said something about opportunities to see different wildlife or something, but we left in the camp bus at 7:30. Breakfast isn’t usually served till 8.”

“That is definitely odd.” Marcie remarked. 

“I’m sure they have a logical reason for doing that, even if it isn’t what David says it is.” Neil replied.

“Probably. I see that you also like to use logical reasoning.” Marcie noted. “You see this book?” 

“Yeah?” Neil replied, entering the garden in order to see it.

“This book contains a series of logic puzzles.” Marcie explained.

“Can I see it?” Neil asked.

“Of course you can.” Marcie replied. Neil leaned in to look at the puzzle.

“Oh, I recognize these. I do these sometimes when taking a break from my personal science projects.” Neil said.

“Do you enjoy science?” Marcie asked.

“It’s my favourite subject at school, and I additionally do science at home.” Neil replied proudly.

“That’s good to know.” Marcie replied. “I’m generally book-smart at school.” 

“Like, you get A’s across the board or something?” Neil asked.

“Yep. My parents put me under a lot of pressure to do so though.” Marcie explained. “Thank god for summer.” She quipped. “I can actually rest.” 

“It’s nice to just sit around on your own and do your own thing.” Neil agreed.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the company of my friends, but I do enjoy a bit of me time, too.” Marcie replied. “Do you want to do a puzzle yourself?”

“Sure, should be easy enough.” Neil accepted the challenge. She turned to the puzzle at the back of the book, cleanly tore the page out, and handed it to Neil, along with a spare pencil. Neil got started on the puzzle, using a pocket calculator as support so that the pencil wouldn’t go through the paper.

The two of them spent the next few minutes thinking hard and solving their puzzles. Marcie finished hers first, and sat up in her chair.

“Done.” She announced. 

“Congrats.” Neil replied, not even looking away. Not long later, Neil had also finished his puzzle.

“There, finished.” Neil said. 

The two of them looked up at the sky.

“Do you have many friends?” Neil asked.

“I have enough friends to make life worth living.” Marcie responded. “Do you?”

“I didn’t, at home. Not until I went to camp did I find any, and Nikki and Max are the best friends I could ever have asked for.” he replied, turning to face Marcie.

“Really? That’s actually quite sweet.” Marcie replied. “I have a best friend too. Her name is Peppermint Patty. She’s everything that I’m not.”

“Sporty, outgoing, and an average grade of D-?” Neil asked.

“That’s her alright.” Marcie replied. “Not that I’m bad at sports. I won a decathlon once. I just don’t like them nearly as much.”

“You won a decathlon?” Neil exclaimed. “I can’t even run a kilometre!”

“Yeah I did, but enough about that.” Marcie answered. “What kind of people are your friends, Neil?” 

“Nikki’s very adventurous, and Max is, well, complicated.”

“How so?” Marcie asked.

“I don’t really know, because he doesn’t tell anyone anything about himself, but there’s obviously some things that have happened in his life that he hasn’t got past yet. I feel like it’s something to do with his home life, but he’s not going to answer that question if you ask him.” Neil explained. “We don’t all come from an idyllic place like you do.”

“It’s nice, living here. I wouldn’t call it idyllic, though. We all have our problems.” Marcie disagreed. “It’s like a person. Even if everything looks like sunshine and rainbows on the outside, you won’t know how they really feel until you’ve been there yourself. This isn’t a bad town, but that doesn’t stop us from having bad times, sometimes. We all hurt inside at some point in our lives.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Neil replied. 

“Yes it is.” Marcie changed the subject. “Anyway, you mentioned earlier about your counsellors, where are they?”

“They got lost in the woods. We’re hanging around in town until they catch up with us.” Neil answered. 

“And when they arrive in town then what?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think Max or Ered really thought that through.” 

“I take it Ered is one of the campers.” Marcie guessed.

“Yeah. If we don’t see them by 6 we’re going back to the tavern.” Neil replied.

“You’ll see them before 6.” Marcie assured him. “Shermy will make sure of that.” 

“How do you mean?”

“He’s a Forest Scout.” Marcie answered.

“What’s a forest scout? Are they related to the Woodscouts?” Neil asked.  
“Forest Scouts are an organisation dedicated to environmental stewardship, Animal rescue and Humane Action. If anyone gets lost in the forest, it’s his job to get them out before they hurt the forest, or themselves.” She explained.

“That seems, oddly noble.” Neil replied. "And nothing like the Woodscouts."

“Yeah. The Woodscouts of America are a load of misogynistic cementheads, and if I see any of them walking here I will deck them personally.” She said, holding up her fists.

“What’s a cementhead? Shermy mentioned about the special curses you have here.”

“We have several, we have blockhead, when someone is being stupid.”

“Like dipshit?” Neil asked.

“Yeah, like that. Most of us use that, but the other word we have is cementhead, which holds the same dramatic power as…

“The c-word?”

“I was going to say that.” Marcie replied. “There was also this kid that called me ‘lambcake’.”

“Which sounds like catcalling.” Neil responded.

“You’ve got it, and rather quickly too, i might add.” Marcie replied. “Now, why don’t we go inside? I’ve got a few crosswords spare that we can do.”

“Sounds good.” And Neil followed Marcie into the living room of her house, where they got started on solving their crosswords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to Comment and Give Feedback!
> 
> Also if you have any questions you can always ask me on Tumblr. https://stereochromatic404.tumblr.com/


	11. The Wall (Tell Somebody)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you ever have a problem in your life too big to solve on your own, get someone you trust to help. Max should know that by now, and so should Charlie Brown.

Charlie Brown stood at the wall, reflecting in his latest failure, of his kite getting caught in the tree once again. The wall had an unusually good view of the hill that Max and the other campers went down, and of the edge of the forest, and he wondered at the time if any of them would come up to join him. It would certainly be an improvement over wallowing in self-pity.

A little while later, he noticed a small, grumpy child wearing a hoodie heading towards him. 

“Hey there.” Charlie Brown called out as he approached the wall. “You okay? You don’t look too happy.”

“You don’t look pleased yourself.” Max replied, as he too, leaned on the wall. 

“Well, I haven’t had much in the way of good days lately.” Charlie Brown complained. 

“Most days are bad, you get used to it after a while. I’m Max. What’s your name?”

“My name? My real name is Charles, but everyone here calls me Charlie Brown, except Peppermint Patty, she calls me Chuck.”

“Nice to meet you, Chuck.” Max replied, as Charlie Brown sighed. “What are you looking at?” He asked, carefully using his language.

“You see over there.” Charlie Brown pointed. “That’s the hill you went down.” 

“I have eyes, Chuck.” Max replied.

“You were all together, a group of friends.” Charlie Brown said.

“And you were standing here alone, with nobody to share your problems. Don’t finish it, I’ve been there before.” Max responded. “You do have friends, right?”

“I do.” Charlie Brown replied. “I have Linus, Schroeder sometimes, and Peppermint Patty and Marcie, too. It’s just sometimes, things happen and they’re not there.”

“Can’t you reach them on the phone?” Max asked.

“That’s if they’re in, even so, I don’t want to disturb them.” Charlie Brown replied. “Don’t you have difficulty sharing your problems, too?”

“I uh, do. I’ve never shared my problems, at least the serious ones, to anyone. I’m very vocal about my annoyances and small complaints, but I’m not letting anyone know about my past.”

“I’m not asking you to tell, but why?” Charlie Brown asked.

“I don’t trust anyone. Too many times I’ve had faith in people only for that faith to be thrown back in my face.” Max replied.

“And that’s hurt you, hasn’t it?” Charlie Brown discerned.

“And it hurts even more when you have no one to share it with.” Max replied. 

“Because you don’t trust them.” Charlie Brown said. Max nodded silently.

“But you don’t want to share your problems either.” Max retorted.

“It’s not the same for me as it is for you.” Charlie Brown replied. “I realise I’m lucky in what I have; a family that cares for me, friends that I’ve known for a long time, but my life is so beset by disappointments that it all feels hopeless at the end of the day, and the outside world looks increasingly scary every day.”

“Last time someone said that, I almost died.” Max quickly jibed.

“I won’t ask.” Charlie Brown replied.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Max complained.

“Well, how do I put it... I’m not… I feel like I’m… because I’m in a better position than some other people, I don’t feel like I have the right to ask for help.” Charlie Brown explained. “and I don’t want to burden my friends by putting my problems on their shoulders. Their lives are hard enough without me.” 

“Jesus, I can’t believe I’m going to sound like David by saying this, but if they truly are your friends, then your problems aren’t going to burden them, and it certainly won’t risk your friendship. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in my time at camp, it’s that trying to do everything on your own isn’t going to fix anything. That was a hard lesson to learn, believe me.” Max rebuked. 

“Who’s David? Is he your camp counsellor?”

“Yeah. He’s very optimistic about everything. Faces the world with a smile despite everything it throws at him. It’s kind of off-putting, it’s like nothing in the world could stop him from achieving his goal.” Max explained.

“Is he a good person?” Charlie Brown asked.

“From what I can see, he is, but I’ve seen enough assholes put on a good face when other people can see them.” Max expressed doubtfully.

“You know, Max, maybe, for what it’s worth, David is a good person, and from what you’ve said about him, he sounds like just the sort of man you can open up to, and he might well be able to solve your problems. I’m sure your camp friends can vouch for his trustworthiness. Don’t tell me I didn’t see them, as you were running down the hill.” Charlie Brown said. 

“Okay, I did make a few friends at camp.” Max admitted. “Do you think I should ask for their opinions first?”

“If that makes you more comfortable, yeah.” Charlie Brown replied. 

“Okay.” Max thought for a while.

“I’ve thought about it, I’m going to ask my friends about it, and then I’ll tell David, on the condition that you start to share your problems with your friends.” 

“Okay, sounds good.” Charlie Brown said.

“Do we have a deal?” Max asked, holding out his hand.

“Deal.” Charlie Brown replied, shaking Max’s hand. 

Charlie Brown and Max looked over in the distance. A hawk circled above the trees. Charlie Brown took out a pair of binoculars from his pocket and looked at it. 

“Keen birdwatcher, are you?” Max commented. Charlie Brown gave a light chuckle. Max spotted something out of the corner of his eye. 

“What’s that over there?” Max asked. Charlie Brown lowered his binoculars and they both watched as they saw two figures head up the hill towards the woods. Charlie Brown took a closer look through his binoculars.

“That looks like Shermy and Patty.” Charlie Brown said.

“Let me see.” Max said, as Charlie Brown handed the binoculars to him.

“Shermy said he was going to visit a friend.” Max said. “So why is he going to the woods?”

“Is David in there? Couldn’t help but notice there weren’t any adults with you as you were running down.”

“Yup.” Max replied, as he slumped on the wall, realising what Shermy was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to get this out before the new episode, so apologies if it's a bit short. I really put my heart and soul into this chapter, and I really look forward to writing the next one. Stay tuned!
> 
> Feel free to comment and give feedback!


	12. The Search for David and Gwen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shermy enlists the help of his best friend to find Gwen and David, but there is danger in the woods...

Shermy left the tavern with a sense of esteemed purpose. He’d heard from Nikki that their camp counsellors were lost in the woods, and he made it his mission to rescue them. He took a turn and looked in the direction of the forest, and began to walk.

“Those woods aren’t safe to go in alone.” Shermy thought aloud, coming to a stop. “But who could I get to help me?” he thought. He turned around and saw that the campers had also left the tavern, and had split up in several directions. Shermy made a mental note of that, before he walked towards the home of his best friend, Patty (Not Peppermint Patty).

Arriving at her house, Shermy knocked on the door. After a few seconds of waiting, Patty opened the door and greeted him.

“Oh, hi Shermy. What brings you here?” Patty asked.

“Somebody’s lost in the woods.” Shermy replied. 

“Okay.” Patty replied, getting herself a raincoat and boots. “Anyone we know?”

“Nope. Not today. Some campers from elsewhere went on an expedition in town and left their counsellors behind.” Shermy answered.

“Oh dear, those poor counsellors.” Patty empathised, as she put her boots on. “We better find them quick, or they could be lost for days.” She said, joining Shermy and shutting the front door behind her. The two of them made their way back to the road leading to the hill, via the tavern, and began to walk up the hill. 

“Did you really need a raincoat?” Shermy asked. “It’s bright weather today.” 

“You’ll never know how much mud you’ll find on a wood trail.” Patty replied. 

“It was raining last time.” Shermy recounted, as they got to the hill and started to climb.

“Did you bring that pocket first aid kit, just in case those counsellors are injured?” Patty asked. 

“Yep. I always have it.” Shermy replied as they got near the top. As they got to the edge of the forest they noticed the trail of footsteps the campers left.

“Looks like the campers came from this way.” Shermy deduced. “If we follow the tracks, we should be able to find the counsellors.”

“I’m sure the counsellors have names, Shermy.” Patty replied.

“David and Gwen, one of the campers said.” Shermy answered. 

“Okay.” Patty replied. As they started to follow the footsteps. Walking further into the forest, the canopy grew thicker and the path was darker. Patty grew concerned. 

“You’d think we’d have seen them by now.” Patty said, as the evidence of footsteps grew scarce. 

“Look for any footsteps going outward from the path. If they stuck to the path, they wouldn’t have lost the campers.” Shermy told her.

“Alright.” Patty looked around her, forwards and backwards for any outward tracks, but she saw none. Shermy took notice of something else slightly further ahead.

“Patty, look. These twigs are cracked, almost as if they’ve been stepped on, and it’s off the path.”

“They might have stopped to look at something, they do seem to like nature.” Patty cast doubt on Shermy’s discovery. 

“There’s nothing to look at, it’s nettles all the way through."

“They won’t have gone through there, then. Not even nature lovers like getting stung. And you call yourself a Forest Scout.” Patty rebuked, crossing her arms.

“Sorry.” Shermy apologised. The two of them continued a short distance, until they saw a clear parting in some bushes. 

“Hey, I think I found something.” Patty said.

“What is it Patty?” Shermy replied. “I see it too.”

“These bushes look like they’ve been walked through.” Patty replied. Shermy crouched down and looked at the soil. 

“Someone’s definitely been here.” Shermy replied. Let’s follow it.”

“Agreed.” They walked through the bushes and were presented with more footsteps.

“Should we try calling out for them?” Patty wondered aloud.

“I don’t know. If they were lost, surely they’d have called out for their campers. I’m starting to think they might have reason to be quiet.” Shermy worried.

“It won’t hurt to try.” Patty brushed Shermy’s fears aside. “David! Gwen!” she shouted.

“Do you think they heard?” She said, much more quietly, to Shermy.

“I’m sure every animal in this forest heard too.” Shermy joked.

“Thanks.” Patty replied sarcastically. The two of them listened out for a response, but none came. 

“Shermy, if you think they are trying to be quiet, do you think they’d be trying to keep a low profile?” Patty asked.

“Yes, but that’s stating the obvious.” Shermy replied bluntly.

“No, I mean, staying low to the ground, not rustling leaves, trying not to be seen, let alone heard.” She explained.

“Good point. But equally, if we’re close, they’ll know we’re not a threat, and hopefully they’ll appear.” Shermy added. In front of them, as if caught in a game of hide and seek, the two counsellors popped up from each of the bushes they were behind. David and Gwen both looked relieved to have been found.

“Hello?” Shermy said. “You must be David and Gwen.”

“Yes, that’s us.” David replied.

“Care to explain what’s going on?” Shermy asked.

“We were on a nature hike, and we got lost. Did the campers wait for us?” Gwen asked.

“No. We saw them in town, they’re safe there.” Shermy reassured.

“We know the way out.” Patty replied. “Would you like us to show you the way?” 

“That would be great, thanks.” David accepted. The four of them walked back down the off beaten trail, until they came up to the bushes next to the trail. 

“Want to get on my back?” David asked, crouching to Shermy’s eye level. 

“Sure.” Shermy replied, and he got on David’s back. Patty did the same with Gwen, and they walked back onto the path, each counsellor carrying a child. 

“Hey, we made it to the path.” Gwen realised.

“Yep. Our town is that way.” Shermy pointed. The four of them continued along the forest path.

“Thanks for finding us by the way.” Gwen said to them.

“No problem, Gwen.” Patty replied. 

“We find lost people in this forest all the time.” Shermy replied. 

“We don’t normally find campers here though, the nearest camp from here is at least 20 miles away, and it has a forest of its own.” Patty stated.

“It’s not your camp either, otherwise Charlie Brown would have mentioned you.” Shermy added. “So why are you all the way out here?”

“We left, very early this morning.” Gwen replied. “David said something about new wildlife.”

“I did.” David looked down.

“Was it a lie?” Gwen asked.

“I got a letter.” David said. A nearby bush rustled conspicuously. David noticed immediately.

“This way.” He whispered to Gwen, pointing behind the cover of some trees on the opposite side.

“It was from Daniel…” David whispered. Gwen’s eyes widened, as she saw the blonde man in white peer up from that bush.

“Oh god.” She whispered in fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :O
> 
> Feel free to comment and give feedback!


	13. Run, Like Your Life Depends On It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David, Gwen, Shermy and Patty do their best to avoid Daniel and his knife.

The four of them didn’t dare make a sound as Daniel crept his way along the path. Coming to the other side of the trees, Daniel leant against one of them. The leaves rustled above David and the others as they held their breath, doing their utmost not to be heard.

Daniel leaned against the tree David was hiding behind, and David could hear Daniel tapping his fingers on the tree menacingly. Unable to hold his breath any longer without giving away his postion, he made an urgent decision.

“Run!” David shouted. Gwen and David sprinted as fast as they could away from Daniel, Shermy and Patty barely holding on to them as they ran. They ducked and dived between every tree they came across, taking different directions in order to try and lose sight of Daniel, but he was only a few feet behind. He took a swing at David with his knife, but missed. David and Gwen kept running.

“Who is this guy?!” Shermy yelled at the top of his lungs.

“He’s a cultist with a knife. How much do you want to know!?” Gwen shouted back, as they ran 90 degrees round a tree. Dodging their way over an overgrown tree root, Shermy and Patty watched as Daniel tripped on it and hopped his way across. This slowed him down, but not enough to lose him, and he was quickly in pursuit of them again. David’s legs were starting to tire, as were Gwen’s, and they looked for a hiding spot as Daniel fell behind trying to trawl through some wet mud. David and Gwen snuck their way behind a large tree, as Daniel stopped in his tracks.

“Stupid, muddy pathways. Now my shoes are filthy!” Daniel grumbled, standing on a stump. He took his shoes off and meticulously scraped as much mud as he could from his shiny white shoes. Realising Daniel was focused on something else, David, Gwen and the two kids snuck off silently into the woods. 

“You think we lost him?” Patty whispered as they trudged.

“We can’t be sure yet.” David whispered back.

“The other problem, is that the exit back that way.” Shermy pointed out quietly.

“We’re going to have to circle around.” Gwen replied. David nodded in response. They went about walking their way around to the other side of the forest, quickening their pace as they heard Daniel begin to move again.

Reaching the path again, the four of them looked at each other, hesitant over whether to take the quicker way out, along the path where they could be seen, or go on ahead and loop round to the exit under the cover of the woods. David pointed and they took the latter option. Slinking in between bushes and trees, they crept along, Shermy eyeing the forest carefully for any movement from Daniel. 

Daniel walked across the path and followed them into the overgrown woodland, briefly appearing in Shermy’s line of sight. 

“He’s still following us.” Shermy whispered to David. David picked up the pace, his footsteps growing louder as he did so. Daniel responded in kind, drawing closer to them. Patty looked behind her, only to see Daniel very clearly within about 20ft of them.

“He’s getting closer!” Patty said in a whispered panic. David and Gwen broke out into a run, Shermy and Patty still on their backs. They came up to a thick part of the forest, with low branches and plenty of stumps and obstacles.

“We can lose him in here, come on.” David said. As they came up to the first of many low branches, Shermy crawled onto it and navigated the trees from above, as did Patty, letting David and Gwen free to quickly sprawl across the undergrowth. Shermy grabbed an apple from one of the branches and threw it in Daniels face, which slowed him down enough for Gwen and David to keep going. The four of them made good progress, as Daniel wasted time getting across the logs and trees in a dignified manner. 

Shermy and Patty made their way across the trees faster than Gwen and David did for the undergrowth. From their elevated position, they showed the two of them the quickest route out of the maze-like structure the trees had concocted. Before long, David and Gwen were out of the dense part of the forest, Patty and Shermy rejoined them, getting back on their backs. With Daniel left to fumble his way through the dense forest ‘maze’, the four of them pressed on until they made it back to the path, with the edge of the forest in sight. 

Alright, I think we lost him.” David said, as they ran onwards to the clearing. Once they made it out, they ran down the hill, and Patty pointed out to David and Gwen where her house was.

“My house is that way. We can go there and get you guys rested up, and then we’ll go and find your campers.”

“They’re all somewhere in town.” Shermy added. The four of them made it to Patty’s door, and went inside, closing the door behind them. 

“There. You guys sit here while Shermy and I get you some coffee, or tea, if that’s what you prefer.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charlie Brown and Max watched from the wall as they saw Gwen and David running out of the forest, with Shermy and Patty on their backs.

“God dammit, David and Gwen are back. Guess I’ll have to go now.” Max grumbled. “They’ll want to pick us up. See you around.”

“Hold on.” Charlie Brown interrupted, looking through his binoculars. “I don’t know about you, but it looks to me like they’re running for their lives.” He gripped tighter on his binoculars.

“From what? “ Max asked. He waited for a few seconds as he watched Charlie Brown focus his attention on the forest. About a minute passed, and then he saw the blonde cultist emerge from the forest.

“Uh, Chuck?” Max asked nervously. “You got any milk?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got Milk?
> 
> Feel free to Comment and Give Feedback!


	14. The Milk Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel has arrived in town, and it's a race against time for Linus and Charlie Brown to get everyone inside...

“Why would we need milk?” Charlie Brown asked as he watched Max quiver.

“Daniel’s a deranged cultist, he wields a knife, and he’s already tried to kill us campers multiple times.” Max composed himself. “Last time, I incapacitated him by pouring chocolate milk on him.”

“Oh, Good Grief!” Charlie Brown exclaimed. “Follow me. My house is this way.” And he took off running, with Max in tow. Charlie Brown’s house wasn’t too far away from the wall and they got there without seeing anyone, except Snoopy, who was sleeping inside his doghouse. Charlie Brown opened the door.

“Sally?” he called out loud and clear as they walked inside. The deafening silence gave him his answer.

“She’s not here.” He said to Max.

“Who’s Sally, again?” Max asked.

“She’s my sister, and she could still be out there.” Charlie Brown answered, concerned. “I’ll check if Linus has seen her.” He said as he picked up the home phone and dialled Linus’ home number.

Linus, Sally, Nikki and Space Kid were enjoying cookies when the phone rang. 

“I’ll get it!” Nikki bolted upright and ran for the phone.”

“Hello?” she said into the phone. The sound of her voice took Charlie Brown by surprise.

“Who is this?” Charlie Brown replied indignantly.

“Oh, I’m Nikki. Linus is here if you wanted to speak with him.”

“Actually, I was wondering if he’d seen my sister, Sally, she’s not home. I’m Charlie Brown, by the way.”

“Yeah, Sally’s here.” Nikki replied.

“Thank god for that.” Charlie Brown breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ask him if something’s wrong. He doesn’t do this normally.” Linus said, gesturing to Nikki.

“Is there something wrong?” She asked.

“Well, uh, I have your friend Max with me, I’ll let him explain. He seems to know more about Daniel than me.”

“Hold on. Daniel!? He’s here?!” Nikki raised her voice. Space Kid made a shocked expression, as Linus and Sally looked at him, confused.

“Yes. He’s here, Max and I saw him coming down the hill.”

“Did he see you?” Nikki asked.

“Thankfully, no.” Charlie Brown replied.

“Ok, that’s good.” Nikki replied. “Do you want Sally to come home?”

“Oh heavens, no. Tell her to stay inside. Don’t open the door to anyone. Tell both of them about Daniel and ring me if there’s any trouble.” Charlie Brown said before hanging up. Max appeared out of Charlie Brown’s kitchen, carrying a plastic carton of milk. 

“What’s that for?” Charlie Brown asked.

“Home defense.” Max replied. Charlie Brown shrugged and waited by the phone.

Meanwhile, at Linus’ house, Nikki had just finished taking Charlie Brown’s call.

“So, who is Daniel?” Linus asked.

“Daniel’s a cult leader with this big knife for stabbing people, and he’s walking around town right now.” Nikki answered.

“Oh dang. I know for a fact that both Lucy and Rerun are outside. We’re going to have to get them inside somehow.”

“Do they have phones?” Nikki asked.

“Of course not. We still have rotary phones. Absolutely nobody here has a mobile. We have a walkie-talkie somewhere, but we’d still have to go out and find them.” Linus explained. 

“Right. You ring Charlie Brown. Where’s the walkie-talkie?”

“It’s in the kitchen, on top of the cupboard.” Linus replied, as he dialled Charlie Brown’s number. Charlie Brown picked up almost immediately.

“Hello?” Linus began.

“Linus?” Charlie Brown replied. “What’s the matter?”

“Lucy and Rerun are outside.” Linus explained. 

“And probably half of the campers too.” Charlie Brown added. “Do you have any plan to get them inside?”

“We have a walkie-talkie.” Linus replied, in vain hope.

“Max says that Daniel is… how do you say it?... Lactose intolerant.” Charlie Brown told him.

“Okay. I’ll make sure to bring the milk.” Linus replied. “You should have the other walkie-talkie somewhere.”

“Yep. I know where that is.” Charlie Brown confirmed. “What will I need it for?”

“Alright. The plan is, me and Nikki are going to go out and round up our friends and any of the other campers, and get them inside before Daniel can get to them. You’ll have to ring everyone’s houses to warn them about Daniel, and to tell Nikki on the walkie-talkie whether they’re inside or not. Got that?”

“Loud and clear.” Max called out in the background.

“Got it.” Charlie Brown replied.

“Good. See you on the other side.” and Linus hung up. Nikki returned from the kitchen, holding both the milk and the walkie-talkie in her hands. Nikki handed Linus the milk and they headed for the front door.

“What’ll we do without the milk?” Sally asked. 

“Close the blinds, don’t open the door, and stay hidden. Oh, and call the police. That’s all I can say. Wish us luck.” Linus replied. 

“Good luck.” Sally said, as Linus and Nikki closed the door behind them.

Meanwhile, Dolph was still on the path at the park, checking each of the directions whilst Rerun was asleep. 

Turning right, he saw the vague figure of a man in white appearing in the far distance. It looked familiar to him and yet unsettling at the same time, causing a shiver to run down his spine. Showing caution, he walked over to the bench where Rerun was sleeping.

“Wake up.” Dolph whispered, giving his shoulder a nudge.

“What’s going on?” Rerun replied sleepily.

“Someone’s coming, we’re going to hide.”

“Alright, I’m coming.” Rerun said, getting up and following Dolph, who led him behind a tree.

“Who are we hiding from?” Rerun asked quietly.

“I’ll tell you when he’s gone.” Dolph whispered.

Back on the other side of town, whilst Linus and Nikki were out looking for Lucy, Charlie Brown was frantically dialling the number to Schroeder’s house.

“Hello.” Schroeder answered. “What’s up, Charlie Brown?”

“Oh, hi Schroeder.” Charlie Brown began.

“Anything you wanted to talk about?” Schroeder asked.

“Not really. Basically, there’s a knife man wandering the streets, so don’t open the door to anyone. Is there anyone with you?”

“I have someone named Preston here. Is that of use to you?”

“Yes. Thank you. Stay safe.” Charlie Brown replied, before he hung up. Max then spoke into the walkie-talkie.

“We just rang Schroeder, and he and Preston are both inside."

“Got it. Thanks for letting us know.” Nikki replied. “Preston and Schroeder are safe.”

“Good.” Linus said. “Lucy’s Psychiatry stand should be just around the corner. I’ll go first.”

Linus rounded the corner to see Lucy at her stand, and Nurf sitting on a nearby bench.

“Is that Daniel?” Linus asked. 

“No, that’s Nurf. He’s one of us. Daniel’s blonde, and he wears all white clothes.” Nikki advised, checking behind her to see if he was there. 

“You could have told me that earlier.” Linus responded. “But thanks anyway.” The two of them ran up to Lucy, who took notice immediately.

“Hey, Linus! What are you doing with the milk!?” she shouted.

“Nurf?” Nikki called out.

“What’s going on?” Nurf asked. 

“Daniel’s been spotted in town. We need to get everyone inside.” Nikki told him.

“Who’s Daniel?” Lucy asked.

“He’s a knife murderer.” Linus answered bluntly. “Just listen to me. Go to Charlie Brown’s house and knock 9 times, he’ll know it’s you.”

“Don’t waste the milk.” Lucy grumbled, as she got up from her stand. 

“And make sure to take Nurf with you!” Nikki added, as Lucy walked. Nurf got up from the bench and followed Lucy. Nikki spoke into the walkie-talkie as they continued.

“Lucy and Nurf are going to your house. If they knock 9 times, it’s them, so let them in.”

“Got it.” Max’s voice resonated through the speaker. Linus looked at Nikki as they ran.

“Rerun’s next to find.”

“Do you know where he is?” Nikki asked.

“Not precisely, but judging from the last picture he drew, I can make a guess.” Linus replied.

Meanwhile, at the park. Dolph and Rerun were hiding out of sight of the path, not daring to make a sound. Dolph stayed completely alert, adrenaline rushing through his body as he focused his sight and hearing. Rerun sat behind him, quiet as a mouse, watching with a concerned look on his face. The fear on Dolph’s face told him everything he needed to know. Dolph watched nervously as he saw the man’s white shoes and trousers stride eagerly past, a jagged knife glistening in his right hand. Dolph’s worst fears were confirmed. The two waited still and silently for a long time until they were sure he was gone.

Dolph peered out onto the path, checking all directions, and there was no one to be seen.

“Oh thank god.” Dolph heaved a sigh of relief.

“Who was that?” Rerun asked.

“Zat was Daniel.” Dolph answered. “He is an cultist und knife murderer. I’m very glad he did not see us.”

“You were scared.” Rerun stated, looking upwards at him.

“I was.” Dolph replied. 

“Should we go?” Rerun asked.

“Not now. If we were to run into him again, we might not have anywhere to hide If we were somewhere else. We should wait.”

“Alright.” Rerun replied, trusting Dolph’s judgement, as he sat on the bench once more.

Over on the other side of town, Charlie Brown had finished calling Schroeder, and was already dialling Marcie. Marcie was busy solving her crossword when the phone rang.

“I’ll get it.” Neil stood up from his chair, as he walked over to the phone.

“Hello? You’ve reached Marcie’s house, who’s this?”

“Charlie Brown. I’m a friend of Marcie. And you are?”

“Neil. What was it you wanted to talk about?” he asked.

“A man named Daniel is walking the streets.”

“Daniel? There are lots of Daniels in the world, could you be more specific?” Neil asked.

“Cult leader, wears white, has a knife. Max tells me he’s tried to kill you before.” Charlie Brown clarified.

“Fuck. Sorry,” Neil blurted.

“Don’t worry, I understand.” Charlie Brown replied. “Just stay indoors and don’t open the door to anyone, okay?”

“I’ll relay that to Marcie.” Neil responded.

“Please do. Hopefully I’ll see you later.” 

“Bye.” And Neil hung up. Max radioed Nikki with the info.

“Marcie’s at home, Neil’s with her. They’re safe.”

“Got it. We’re going to the park to look for Rerun. Thanks guys.” Nikki’s voice emanated from the speaker.

“Copy that. We’ll let you know if we get more info.” Max replied. Charlie Brown was about to ring Peppermint Patty, but to his surprise, his phone began to ring. He picked up and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Schroeder here. I told Franklin and Pigpen what was going on. They’re both safe.”

“Oh, good.” Charlie Brown replied. “Are any of the campers with them?”

“I did remember to ask that, thankfully. Franklin has someone called Nerris with him and somebody named Harrison is at Pigpen’s house.” Schroeder answered.

“Thanks Schroeder, you’ve been a big help.”

“Anytime, Charlie Brown. See you soon.” And he hung up. Barely a moment later, there was a sequence of 9 knocks on the door.

“That’ll be Lucy and Nurf.” Charlie Brown said, motioning for Max to open the door. Max grabbed the milk on the table and answered it. 

“Max?” Nurf asked. “This isn’t your house.” 

“Stop asking questions and get inside.” Max instructed. “We don’t have time for this.” Max held open the door for Lucy and Nurf to enter, before he shut the door behind them.

By now, Linus and Nikki were almost at the park. Dolph and Rerun watched from the park bench as two small figures came into view, running towards them at speed. Rerun looked up and recognized one of them immediately.

“Linus!” Rerun leapt off the bench and ran towards him. Dolph looked both ways across the path, before following him.

“Rerun! Linus called out as Rerun hugged him. 

“What’s with the milk?” Rerun asked. 

“It’s a long story.” Linus replied. It was at this moment that Dolph recognised Nikki was with him.

“Nikki!”

“Dolph!” Nikki gave him a hug. 

“Daniel walked past us.” Dolph told her. “We had to hide. He went that way.” Dolph pointed in the direction Daniel had walked, looking like he was about to cry. 

“Is Daniel weak to milk?” Rerun asked. 

“Yes.” Linus replied, face filling with concern as he listened to Dolph and Nikki’s conversation. “Over that way is Peppermint Patty’s neighborhood. Nikki? Could you hand me the walkie-talkie please?”

“Got it here.” She replied, handing it to Linus, before he spoke into it.

“Max, this is Linus. We found Dolph and Rerun. They’re fine, but they saw Daniel heading towards Peppermint Patty’s neighborhood. Is there anyone that isn’t inside?"

“Let me think.” Max paused. “Lucy and Nurf are with us, Neil’s with Marcie, Dolph’s with you, Space Kid is at your house, Preston’s with Schroeder, he rang Pigpen and Franklin and they’re safe with Harrison and Nerris. That just leaves Ered and Peppermint Patty, who we haven’t rang yet.”

“Well, get on with it. We don’t have much time.” Linus replied. “What about Shermy and Patty?” 

“They should be safe.” Max answered. “They got out of the forest about a minute before Daniel did.”

“Okay. Call Peppermint Patty, and tell us then. We’ll try and get Rerun and Dolph home in the meantime.”

“Copy that. See you then.” Max finished.

Charlie Brown dialled the number to Peppermint Patty’s house. The dialling tone repeated itself over and over as he held the phone to his ear, and it was clear that Peppermint Patty wasn’t going to answer. Eventually the phone reached her house, where the pre-recorded sound of her Dad’s voice asked him to leave a message after the beep.  
Charlie Brown carelessly put the receiver back on the phone. 

“Max, could you hand me the walkie-talkie, please?” He asked. Max gave Charlie Brown the walkie-talkie without hesitation, noticing the fear in Charlie Brown’s voice. 

“Linus, I rang Peppermint Patty. She’s not home.”

“She’s not?” Linus replied, alarmed. “What should we do?”

“I don’t know, but we need to get her inside before Daniel reaches her!” Charlie Brown panicked.

“Daniel’s headed her way,” Linus hesitated. “It’ll be a long shot, but I’ll see what I can do.” Linus turned to Nikki.

“You take Dolph and Rerun and go to Charlie Brown’s house. You know where that is, right?”

“Yep.” Nikki replied.

“I’ll meet you there once I find Peppermint Patty.” 

“Don’t forget Ered!” Nikki said, as Linus darted off in the direction of Peppermint Patty’s neighbourhood. 

Over on the bench outside the Tennis court, Peppermint Patty was sitting watching Ered attempt tricks on the motocross bike. Ered was spinning the bike around on one wheel, but brought the bike down when she spotted a vague figure in her field of vision. As she turned and looked both directions, the figure broke out into a run, and Ered could clearly see who it was.

“HECK!” Ered shouted, as she made a fearful and shocked expression. “Peppermint Patty, get on!”

“Why?” Peppermint Patty asked, standing up. Ered looked at Daniel has he drew closer. 

“Daniel’s coming, and he has a knife, you better get on if you want to live!”

Ered heard the fast approaching voice of Daniel.

“Don’t run away. I need to use you for sacrifices!” He said cheerfully. Peppermint Patty wasted no time, breaking into a sprint and getting on the bike. She took one look behind her, as she held on to Ered, and saw Daniel looming over her.

“Go!” she shouted. Daniel took a swing of his knife as Ered began to apply the throttle. Peppermint Patty felt a wave of pain as Daniel’s knife caught on her right arm.

“Yow!” Peppermint Patty exclaimed, as they both sped off as fast as they could. 

“You okay back there?” Ered asked, concentrating on the road as they travelled at speed. 

“Daniel caught my arm, it’s bleeding quite a bit.” Peppermint Patty replied. “It hurts a lot.”

“Okay. I’ll get you some first aid when we’re somewhere safe.” Ered replied, as she turned a corner.

“Uh huh.” Peppermint Patty winced in pain. Ered rode down the street, before coming to a stop as she saw Linus up ahead of her.

“Why have we stopped?" Peppermint Patty asked. "Oh hi Linus."

“Are you guys okay?” Linus asked.

“I’ll live.” Peppermint Patty replied. “Have you seen Shermy? I need first aid.” Peppermint Patty showed Linus her arm, as blood dripped down it.

“Good Grief.” Linus replied, slightly shocked. “Shermy should be at home, and if not there, he’ll be at Patty’s”

“Your House?” Ered asked.

“No. there’s a different Patty. Thanks Linus.” Patty held her arm as she braved her way through the pain. Linus turned around and began to use the walkie-talkie.

“Ered and Peppermint Patty are alive. They’re going to Shermy’s so he can give Peppermint Patty some first aid.”

“Did Daniel get her?” Charlie Brown asked.

“Not sure. She’s bleeding, but it’s not life threatening, we’ll worry about it later. Nikki is taking Dolph and Rerun to your house. I’ll see you soon.” Linus signed off. He began to run back towards home, but he quickly tired. The toll of running around trying to keep everyone safe whilst lugging a carton of milk caused him to feel pain in his legs he hadn’t felt since the school board forced everyone to run the cross-country course. Every step he ran felt like an uphill battle, and he began to slow. The aching of his legs clouded his mind, and he was too tired to focus on the sound of steps behind him.

“You look tired, little one.” A voice sprang up from behind him. Linus turned to look and the vision of Daniel’s gleaming evil smile, knife raised above his head, was seared into his brain.

“Aah!” Linus squeaked as he bolted as fast as his little legs could carry him, at the same time trying to unscrew the cap of the milk bottle. Daniel made a swing at him, missing him by a mere inch. Linus opened the milk carton, turning round in just enough time to parry Daniel’s next swing of the knife. The knife slashed the carton of milk, causing the milk to leak out at a steady rate. Realising his predicament, Linus made a single heave, chucking milk all over Daniel. Some of that milk entered Daniel’s mouth, and that was enough.

Daniel made some sickening noises as he started to convulse, crumpling onto the ground like a wet sack of potatoes. Linus went down onto his knees as he caught his breath, watching as Daniel became unconscious. 

“It’s over.” Linus breathed, looking around him, the silence only broken by the ambient sounds of suburbia and the sound of his own breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to Comment and Give Feedback! 
> 
> This chapter was incredibly energising and fun to write and I hope you enjoyed reading it.


	15. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Campers and the Peanuts gang attempt to recover from the day's ordeal.

The distant sound of a police siren wailed, the noise growing ever louder as it pierced the silence. Eventually the police car came into view on the street and stopped within a few yards of Linus. The car switched off its sirens and two policemen walked out of it. 

“We got a call from around here, talking about a man with all-white clothes walking around the streets with a knife?” 

“He’s right here.” Linus gestured at the unconscious Daniel. “I’m sorry if the call sounded far-fetched when you got it.” 

“That’s alright. We get legitimate concerns all the time that turn out to be nothing. So this is him?” The policeman looked over him. “What’s he doing on the ground, sonny?” 

“He’s lactose intolerant. I splashed milk on him in self-defense.” Linus defended himself, gesturing towards the slashed milk carton, which was leaking milk all over the ground. The policeman stroked his chin as he took a look at the milk carton, and then at Daniel’s knife, which was bloodied at the tip.

“Hmm. It looks like me managed to get someone, judging by the blood on the knife.” The policeman said.

“They weren’t stabbed, there isn’t enough blood for that.” The other policeman clarified.

“Peppermint Patty had a cut on her arm, last time I saw her. its pretty deep, but it didn’t look life threatening when she showed it to me, She’s gone to see Shermy for some first aid.”

“Understood. We’ll see to it that she’s checked out by a proper healthcare professional.” The policeman replied.

“As for ‘Daniel’, we’ll take him into custody and make sure he receives immediate medical attention. Be sure to hear from us, we might need your testimony at a future date.” The other policeman said. The two cops carried Daniel carefully into the police car, making sure his tongue didn’t fall into his throat, and they handcuffed him as well, the two policemen got in the car and drove away carefully to the nearest hospital. Linus picked up the walkie-talkie in his hand.

“Daniel’s in custody. The police have taken him away.” He said, still too tired to stand.

“Good. I’ll tell everyone the streets are safe.” Charlie Brown replied. 

Meanwhile, Ered and Peppermint Patty had just arrived at the other Patty’s house, having already tried Shermy’s house. Ered knocked on the door, whilst Peppermint Patty knocked on the window with her good arm. Shermy noticed Peppermint Patty knocking and opened the door.

“Hello?” He looked at Ered, before turning to look left. “Peppermint Patty?” 

“Yes. I need a bandage.” Peppermint Patty showed Shermy her arm.

“Right.” Shermy grimaced. “Come inside, I’ll see what I can do.” Shermy guided Peppermint Patty to a stool, where she sat as Shermy opened his first aid kit. The phone rang at the same time in the other room.

“I’ll get it.” Patty replied, walking off to answer it. 

“Looks nasty. How did you get it?” Shermy commented, fishing some antiseptic and a bandage out of his bag.

“Well, there was this man with a knife.” Peppermint Patty began.

“Shit.” Gwen blurted. “You mean Daniel followed us into town? David! You said we lost him!”

“I thought we had.” David replied, trying to keep calm. 

“How did you get away?” Gwen asked.

“I had my motocross bike, and luckily, Ered knew how to ride it.” Ered smiled in response, keeping her coolness to herself, for the time being. 

“This might sting a little." Shermy warned, as he sprayed anti septic onto the wound and wiped it clean.” Peppermint Patty winced. Shermy began to wrap a bandage around Peppermint Patty’s arm as Patty walked back into the room.

“That was Charlie Brown. Apparently, Daniel’s in custody and the streets are safe to walk again.” She announced. 

“Is anyone hurt? Did he kill anyone?” Gwen worried.

“I’m right here, blockhead!” Peppermint Patty shouted. 

“Sorry.” Gwen apologised, before looking back up at Patty.

“He seemed in high spirits when I spoke to him, so it’s probably good news from their end.” Patty replied.

“Good to hear, Patty.” David replied. “Would any of you like tea or coffee, Ered, Peppermint Patty?”

“Yes. Tea please.” Peppermint Patty replied. Ered asked for one as well. Shermy turned to Patty as he finished wrapping Peppermint Patty’s bandage.

“Patty. Could you ring the hospital? Peppermint Patty’s cut needs to be seen by a proper medical professional.” 

“Yep.” Patty replied, going back into the room.

Linus stayed sat on the pavement, taking a few moments to regain his strength. It wasn’t long however, before the group of children that were gathered at Charlie Brown’s house went outside. Linus heard the collective sound of Nikki, Dolph, Lucy, Rerun, Nurf and Max closing in towards him. He stood up and turned round to face them. 

“Hey guys.” Linus said with a weary smile. Rerun opened his arms out for a hug and Linus reciprocated. 

“You okay?” Nikki asked, joining in the hug. 

“I’m a bit shaken.” Linus admitted. “He almost had me.” He said, taking a glance at the milk. The others took notice of the milk.

“Did you get him with the milk?” Rerun asked.

“Yeah. The police arrested him and took him to hospital.” Linus replied. 

“You do know you owe us a bottle of milk now, right?” Lucy said half-jokingly.

“Really?” Max looked at Lucy disapprovingly.

“I think we all owe him one.” Dolph suggested. The circle of children nodded in agreement.

“Where’s Charlie Brown?” Linus asked.

“He’s still letting everyone know the streets are safe.” Max answered.

“Come on, Linus, let’s take you home.” Nikki put her arm around Linus, as did Rerun, Max and Nurf, and they all walked him home, with Lucy picking up the rear.   
Back in Patty’s house, David had just finished making tea for Peppermint Patty and Ered when there was a knock on the door.

“There’s an ambulance outside.” Gwen looked out of the window.

Patty opened the door. 

“Hello. You rang about someone with a…”

“Yes. She’s in here.” Patty directed the Paramedic towards where Peppermint Patty was sitting. Shermy explained in as much detail as he could the extent of the injury, and what he had done to treat it. Blood was beginning to soak through the bandages slightly.

“How did it happen?”

“A man attacked her with a knife. He’s in custody now, so don’t worry about that.” Shermy assured him.

“Why don’t you come with us, and we’ll have that cut checked out. Alright?” The paramedic said to Peppermint Patty. She stood up, rolling her eyes at the paramedic’s patronising tone, before following the paramedic into the ambulance. Ered took her cup of tea as David left Peppermint Patty’s on a nearby table. Gwen took it in Peppermint Patty’s absence, as David went and made more tea for himself.

“Do you think we should go outside, now that the streets are safe? The campers must be waiting for us. David asked.

“I think they’ll survive on their own for a little while. They’ve already made it this far.” Gwen replied, looking over at Ered and smiling. “We’d only ruin their fun, now that Daniel’s gone.” 

“Fair.” David replied, sitting down. “We’ll go when we finish our tea.” Patty joined them.

“Shermy went with the paramedic to keep Peppermint Patty company.” Patty told them, as she sat down also. 

Linus and friends walked arm in arm back to his house, where Sally and Space Kid were waiting. The others followed Linus as he went inside and sat on his beanbag, exhausted. 

“I’ll get you some water.” Nikki offered. “You look like you need it.” The others sat around him, taking cookies from the jar that had been left there when Nikki got the call about Daniel. 

“Did you save the day again, Linus?” Sally asked sweetly. Linus didn’t answer. With all the emotions that were whirling around in his head, he wasn’t really in the mood to think.   
Nikki returned, holding a glass of water. Linus took the glass and drank it. Rerun and Dolph told everyone about how they watched Daniel walk past them, and how relieved they were to see how Linus and Nikki had found them. Nikki mentioned how she and Linus had run to Lucy and Rerun, before Linus went to get Peppermint Patty on his own.

“Charlie Brown was a big help.” Linus spoke, having been quiet during the whole conversation. A knock on the door was heard. 

“That’ll probably be him now.” Sally commented, as she went to open the door. As she’d expected, Charlie Brown was indeed at the door. 

“Hey there, big brother.” She smiled.

“Hi, Sally. How’s Linus?”

“He’s tired.” Sally pointed to him resting on the beanbag as everyone sat around him.

“Oh, hi Charlie Brown.” Linus said, looking up at him as he entered. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’ve finished calling everyone. How about you?”

“I need a nap. But that can wait.” Linus replied.

“What did you do, Charlie Brown?” Lucy asked, eating a cookie. 

“I got on the phone to everyone, to warn them about Daniel. I didn’t do that much, really.”

“You kept everyone safe.” Linus disagreed.

“I didn’t do nearly as much as you did. You put your neck on the line to keep everyone alive.” Charlie Brown modestly put.

“Yeah. I don’t really want to talk about it right now, if I’m honest.” Linus replied.

“Daniel almost got him.” Nikki indicated to Charlie Brown. Max turned to Linus with a look of concern.

“I see.” Charlie Brown looked at Nikki, matching the downcast look Max gave.

“I’m fine.” Linus insisted. He reached for a cookie, but there was only one left, so he stopped.

“You can have it.” Lucy said. Linus reached over and took the cookie. The kids sat around in silence for a few moments.

“Anyone wanna watch TV?” Rerun piped up.

“Sure, why not. It might take my mind off things.” Linus grabbed the remote and handed it to Rerun, who quickly turned the TV on.

Meanwhile, at Patty’s house, David, Ered and Gwen were finishing their tea whilst Patty enjoyed a glass of water. David waited as Gwen finished her tea and put it back on the table. David did the same, as did Ered. The three of them got up. 

“Where are you going?” Patty asked.

“We’re going to find our campers and take them back to camp.” David answered. “Thank you for your hospitality.” 

“No problem.” Patty replied. “I’d be dead in that forest if it weren’t for you two. You’re welcome anytime.” She added.

“Bye!” Patty said as Gwen, David and Ered walked out the front door. The three of them walked down the road.

“How are you doing, Ered?” David asked. “You haven’t spoken about what happened since you got here.”

“Well, me and Peppermint Patty were taking turns riding her motocross bike. I sort of feel like I should have been in her position, you know. I feel kind of responsible for what happened.” Ered explained sombrely as they walked. 

Gwen’s face fell. “Ered.” She put a hand on Ered’s shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known Daniel was going to appear.” 

“You did your best, Ered, and that’s all we can ask of you.” David sympathised. “You did good, and even though Peppermint Patty got hurt, she certainly isn’t blaming you for any of it.”

“I guess.” They walked straight on, the streets seemingly empty.

“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Gwen asked.

“Not really. I’m just back tracking from where we rode.” Ered. “I’m hoping some of the campers are there. After a short while, they found themselves on a vaguely familiar road that Ered had chosen not to walk down before. A swirl of dust appeared in the air, signalling that somebody was there.

“What is that signal?” David thought aloud. 

“Try some of your magic, Harrison!” Ered heard an excited voice from behind a nearby garden fence.

“There’s our first camper.” Ered told David.

“Harrison!” David called out. 

“Someone’s calling your name.” Pig-pen said to Harrison.

“I know, I think that’s David. Looks like I’m going back to camp. I’ll see you around, hopefully.” Harrison replied.

“You too. Bye for now!” Pig-pen waved goodbye. Harrison waved back as he exited the garden. He faced the street, and saw David, Gwen and Ered. 

“Hi guys.” Harrison said, joining them. 

“Glad to see you’re okay.” Gwen smiled.

“Oh, so you heard about the knife man on the street.” Harrison assumed.

“Yeah, but Daniel’s in custody now, so no need to worry.” David added.

“Oh.” Harrison replied, as the realisation dawned on him. 

“Have you seen any of the other campers?” Gwen asked.

“I saw Nerris was behind me, so she can’t be too far.” Harrison replied.

Franklin peered out of the window as he rolled a D20.

“Who’s that?” Franklin asked, pointing at the group of 4 who were walking past. Nerris looked up.

“Oh, those look like my camp counsellors.” Nerris replied. “I think it’s time that I go.”

“Well, it was nice seeing you, Nerris. Maybe we can continue this game next time.” Franklin waved goodbye.

“Maybe. See you then!” Nerris replied, as she left via the front door. “Hey, Harrison!” she shouted as she ran outside to meet them.

“Nerris!” Harrison beamed. “How are you?” 

“I’m okay.” Nerris answered. “How are you, Ered?”

“Could be better.” Ered replied. 

“Ered’s had a rough day. Most of us have.” Gwen told her.

“What happened?” Nerris asked.

“Did your friend not tell you what was going on?” Harrison asked. 

“No, he went to the phone a couple of times, but he didn’t tell me anything. I guess he didn’t want me to be worried I suppose.” Nerris tried to explain.

“So basically, Daniel appeared and almost got us, again. We only knew about it because Charlie Brown and Max saw him come down the hill, and rang all of his friends.” Harrison explained. 

“I’ll have to thank him, when we see him.” David made a mental note of that as they walked. Not far away in the distance, the group of five saw two people walking towards them. they stopped as they realised it was Neil, and someone they didn’t recognise.

“Oh, hi David.” Neil greeted.

“So these are your camp counsellors.” Marcie looked at them studiously. 

“Yeah. Their competence knows no bounds.” Neil joked.

“Enough of the sarcasm, Neil.” Gwen rolled her eyes. Neil was about to respond with a witty remark of his own, but thought better of it.

“Where are you guys going?” Nerris asked.

“We’re going to Linus’ house.” Marcie replied. "All of the others are there.”

“Mind if we join you? You seem to know the way.” David asked.

“I don’t see why not. You want to get your campers home don’t you?” Marcie agreed. David and the others followed Marcie and Neil as they walked over towards Charlie Brown’s side of town. 

“Did Shermy get you out of those woods in the end?” Marcie asked.

“Yeah. Shermy and Patty got us out. We’d have been dead in that forest if it weren’t for them.” Gwen answered. 

The group of them arrived at Linus’ house.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes. Everyone’s in here.” Marcie said, as she knocked on the door. After a short while, Charlie Brown opened the door.

“Oh, hi Marcie.” He looked at all the people behind her.

“You must be Gwen and David.”

“We are. And who might you be?” David replied.

“Oh. I’m Charlie Brown, but this is Linus’ house.” He explained, pointing out Linus, who was sleeping blissfully on his beanbag as everyone else watched cartoons. 

“Aww, he’s asleep.” David cooed.

“He’s had a rough day.” Charlie Brown said. “If there’s anyone to thank for our lives, it’s him.”

“I see.” Gwen replied. 

“Come in.” Charlie Brown invited. David, Gwen and the others followed him inside. Max noticed instantly.

“David, where the FUCK have you been?” He asked.

“Max!” Nikki whispered, pointing at Linus, who continued to sleep. 

“Sorry.” Max whispered back.

“Sorry to bother you,” David began. “And I know it’s been an eventful day already, but we really should be getting back to camp.”

“Aww. But we made so many new friends!” Nikki complained. 

“I know. But it’s not like you would have stayed here forever. Who knows, maybe you might meet them again sometime.” Gwen responded.

“It’s not like we’ll forget about you anytime soon.” Charlie Brown smiled. The campers stood up from the sofa before Gwen and David counted them. 

“Hold on. Where’s Preston?” David asked, as Gwen began to look panicked.

“Oh. He’s still at Schroeder’s. I’ll ring him.” Charlie Brown offered.

“I’ll do it. You’ve done enough today.” Sally got up and walked to the telephone, ringing Schroeder.

“Hello? Schroeder here.” Came the answer from the other end.

“This is Sally. Is Preston still with you?” Sally asked.

“Yes. Why?” Schroeder asked.

“His camp counsellors are here at Linus’ house, and they want to go back to camp.” 

“Okay. I’ll get him.” Schroeder replied. “I’ll see you guys soon.” And he hung up.

“Now would be a good time to say your goodbyes.” Gwen advised. Rerun got up and shook hands with Dolph. 

“I hope to see you again soon.” Rerun said to him.

“Zat would be nice.” Dolph replied, as he joined David and the others. 

“Bye guys. I’m sorry things couldn’t be, more normal. This place can be a bit nuts sometimes. ” Charlie Brown spoke. 

“Nothing is normal at Camp Campbell.” Nikki replied. “I’m glad we all made friends.” 

“Maybe we’ll meet again one day.” Charlie Brown replied.

"I almost forgot to thank you, Charlie Brown. For keeping the campers safe." David remembered.

"You're welcome." Charlie Brown accepted his thanks. At that moment, Preston arrived. 

“Hello!” Preston shouted. 

“Well, it looks like we have all our campers together.” David said. “Why don’t we all head back to the bus?” 

“If you can get there without getting lost.” Max smirked. 

“Goodbye everyone!” David called out.

“Goodbye.” Came the disjointed chorus of Charlie Brown and friends. They closed the door and left without another word. And all was quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing an extra epilogue for this, just to finish up the story completely.
> 
> Feel free to comment and give feedback!


	16. Epilogue: Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An eventful day for all ends with peace and calm.

Now that the campers had gone, the Van Pelt household was a lot quieter. Charlie Brown, Sally, Lucy, Rerun, and Marcie sat down on the sofa as Linus slept. He started to grow restless in his sleep, rolling about until he bumped Charlie Brown on the leg, which jolted him awake.

“What on earth…?” Linus looked up as he woke. “Oh hi, Charlie Brown.” Linus sat up and looked around. “Where is everyone?”

“The campers have gone back to camp. Their counsellors got here a few minutes ago.” Charlie Brown explained.

“That’s a shame. I didn’t get to say goodbye to them.” Linus responded.

“You looked a bit restless in your sleep.” Charlie Brown told him.

“I know. Daniel appeared in my dream. That’s going to be hard to shake off.” Linus admitted.

“Your blanket’s under the beanbag, if you need it.” Sally suggested. “We won’t judge you for using it, especially not after today.” 

“Promise?” 

“For a good while, at least.” Lucy assured. Linus took out the blanket from under the bean bag and held onto it tightly. Marcie then asked him a question. 

“Did you see Peppermint Patty anywhere? I haven’t seen her since this morning.” She ask, slightly worried.

“She had a bad cut on her arm when I last saw her. She should be at the hospital by now.” Linus answered. 

“I should go visit her.” Marcie replied. “See you tomorrow, Linus.” 

“See you then.” Linus said as she left. The remaining five returned to watching cartoons.

It took half an hour for David, Gwen and the campers to get back to the camp bus, and the walk back had been long and tiring. Thankfully everyone (including the counsellors) had stuck to the paths and didn’t get lost. Each of the campers filed onto the bus one by one, with Gwen driving at the front and David just behind her. Ered sat the back with Nerris, Harrison and Dolph, who listened as she began to tell her story.

“So, I was doing some sick wheelies on Peppermint Patty’s motocross bike. And then Daniel appeared, which was like, way uncool. So I shouted at her to get on, and then we rode away just as Daniel swung his knife."

“Did anyone get hurt?” Nerris asked.

“Peppermint Patty got a cut on her arm, but hopefully she should be out of the hospital soon.”

“Is she cool, like you?” Dolph asked.

“Heck yeah, she’s cool.” Ered replied. “It sucks that she got hurt though.”

“Yeah, it does.” Harrison agreed. The others around him nodded.

“I heard that you had to hide from Daniel.” Ered said to Dolph. 

“Yeah, zat was a scary moment.” Dolph admitted. “But luckily he didn’t see us.” 

“Well, you did a great job of keeping everyone safe, so you were cool, too.” Ered complimented.

“Thank you Ered.” Dolph replied. 

The bus continued to drive, eventually getting close to Camp Campbell. At that point, Gwen made an announcement. 

“Now campers, when we get back, whilst we would normally schedule activities for a Friday afternoon, in light of the eventful morning we’ve had today, David and I have decided you’re all getting the afternoon off.” The campers whooped and cheered at the news, as the bus began to tread the dirt road leading to camp.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, the doctor had just finished had long finished putting in stitches to hold Peppermint Patty’s wound closed, and she sat whilst the doctor’s tried to ring her father so he could take her home. Shermy had long since gone home, now that he wasn’t needed. A few moments later, a lady with a clipboard entered the room.

“A girl named Marcie is here to see you, Miss Reichardt.”

“Alright. Thank you, ma’am.” Peppermint Patty replied. Marcie entered the room.

“Hey there Marcie.” Peppermint Patty said. 

“Hello, sir.” Marcie responded. “It’s nice to see you in high spirits, given what happened to you.”

“Oh, I’m doing alright.” Peppermint Patty. “The doctors have stitched up my arm for me. It should heal in a few days.” 

“Was Daniel scary?” Marcie asked.

“A bit. It was all a bit sudden. I took one look at him and then we were gone. He caught my arm, if you look.” Peppermint Patty showed Marcie her arm. “But I trusted Ered to get us away and she did. “I don’t think seeing Daniel will change me. At least not mentally.” She looked at her arm. “I’m still the same girl now as I was before.”

“So, you’re not scared to go outside?” Marcie asked.

“Not even remotely. Daniel’s not from here, and now that he’s gone, why should I worry? Just don’t tell dad that. If he asks, I’ll tell him it was a biking accident.” Peppermint Patty assured her.

“Okay. If you want to keep that a secret, I’ll help you, but don’t be surprised if he finds out anyway.” Marcie agreed.

It took about half an hour for Peppermint Patty’s dad to turn up at the hospital from work. 

“Patricia?” he called quietly as he poked his head in the door.

“Hi Dad.” Peppermint Patty responded.

“How are you?” he asked, before looking at his daughter’s arm. “Oh, you look like you’ve had a nasty fall. Were you on your motorbike by any chance?”

“Yeah.” Peppermint Patty smiled at the ease she was able to avoid having to lie. 

“C’mon. lets get you home.” Peppermint Patty got up and followed her dad, Marcie winked at her as she followed behind her. Peppermint Patty and her dad left the hospital with Marcie in tow.

“You want a lift home, Marcie?” Peppermint Patty’s father asked.

“That would be nice, sir.” Marcie replied.

“You needn’t be so formal, Marcie.” He chuckled. Marcie got in their car and the three of theme drove home. 

Charlie Brown and Sally stayed and watched TV with Linus until teatime, at which point they both left, as their parents expected them to be home inside by the time they got back from work.

It wasn’t much longer until Linus’ parents arrived home. Lucy had already changed the channel away from cartoons, and by the time Mr and Mrs Van Pelt had settled onto the sofa, it was almost time for the evening news.

“It’s 6pm and you are watching TV Evening News!” came a voice from the screen.

“In tonight’s top story: The notorious criminal Daniel Rowse has been arrested at around 12:09pm this afternoon.” Linus clutched his blanket tighter as the newsreader read out the story. “The cult leader, who was wanted for the murders of 8 people at Camp Beetle, as well as 12 counts of attempted murder, was reportedly walking the streets of Minnesota earlier today.” 

“Jeez, I hope he wasn’t anywhere near us.” Mrs Van Pelt looked around at her three children. Linus stayed completely silent and held his blanket tighter. The last thing he needed was his mother panicking about him. 

“He wasn’t, Mom. You shouldn’t worry about us.” Lucy coolly lied. 

“So, anyway, what did you get up to today?” Mrs Van Pelt asked. Linus gulped.

“Well, some kids from a camp managed to get lost on a hiking trip and found themselves here. The three of us managed to make some new friends."

“Would that be why all the milk and cookies have gone?” Mr Van Pelt asked.

“Yeah.” Linus replied. “I was being hospitable.”

“Well you know the rules here.” Mr Van Pelt reminded him.

“It has to last ‘til Sunday, or your buying it the next round.” Linus recited to him.

“We’ll buy it this time.” Rerun said, exchanging glances with Lucy. “Don’t sweat it, Linus.” 

“Thanks, guys.” Linus replied. The news filtered out into other stories, about things such as the weather, the latest sports results, and a special report on the local ice-rink. The Van Pelts had a rather relaxed evening, with dinner and watching DVD’s proving to be a fun family night in. eventually, the three Van Pelt children went to bed, and quickly went to sleep.

All except Linus, who lied awake, clutching his blanket once more, thinking about earlier that day.

“I hope he doesn’t haunt my dreams again.” He quivered, as he shut his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Free to Comment and give Feedback!
> 
> Thank you for reading. and Thanks for all the comments you gave! I really appreciate them!   
> I will be doing a sequel for this, if you're interested.
> 
> Feel free to ask me any questions on my tumblr. https://stereochromatic404.tumblr.com/ask


End file.
